GIFT   OF 


UUCUMfc^TS 
DEPT. 


g»latr  nf  (Ennnerttrut 
PUBLIC  DOCUMENT— SPECIAL 

REPORT 

OF    THE 

DEPARTMENT  OF  LABOR 

ON 

The  Conditions  of 
Wage-Earners  in  the  State 

Printed  in  Compliance  with  Statute 


CHARLOTTE  MOLYNEUX  HOLLOWAY, 

Industrial  -Investigator 


HARTFORD 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  STATE 

1918 


THE  JOURNAL  PRESS 
MERIDEN,  CONN. 


PUBLICATION 

APPROVED  BY 

THE  BOARD  OF  CONTROL 


INDUSTRIAL  REPORT  CONTENTS 


Letter  of  Transmitted. 

Investigator's  Report  to  Commissioner. 

1.  Women  and  Others  in  Industrial  Plants. 

2.  Effects  of  the  Influenza  Epidemic  on  Industry. 

3.  Safety  Precautions. 
.4.  Welfare  Work. 

5.  Housing. 

6.  Americanization. 

7.  Young  Mothers  in  Industry. 

8.  Lunch  Rooms  in  Factories* 

9.  Sanitary  Work  as  t'o  Disease. 

10.  Bonus  Systems,  etc". 

11.  High  Cost  of  Living. 

12.  Vocational  Education. 

13.  Child  Labor. 

14.  Unnecessary  and  Undesirable  Employment  of  Women. 

15.  Greater  Increase  of  Health  Vigilance  over  General 

Industry. 

16.  Savings. 

17.  Recommendations. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


To  his  Excellency  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut: 

I  herewith  submit  the  report  of  the  Industrial  Investi- 
gator of  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Factory  Inspection 
on  the  Conditions  of  the  Industrial  Wage  Earners  of  the 
state  during  1917  and  1918. 

Respectfully, 

WILLIAM  S.  HYDE, 

Commissioner  of  Labor  and 

Factory  Inspection, 
Hartford,  January  15,  1919. 


REPORT  OF  THE   INDUSTRIAL 
INVESTIGATOR  FOR  1917-1918 


To  THE  HONORABLE  WILLIAM  S.  HYDE, 

Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Factory  Inspection: 

The  report  of  the  Industrial  Investigator,  is  herewith  sub- 
mitted to  you  for  your  approval  and  subsequent  transmis- 
sion to  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  and  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

It  is  somewhat  delayed  owing  to  the  unsettled  condition 
of  industrial  affairs  during  the  years  1917-1918,  and  to  the 
belief  that  the  sudden  collapse  of  the  European  War  in 
which  the  United  States  was  associated  with  the  Allied  Pow- 
ers, justified  its  not  being  closed  until  there  was  some  evi- 
dence collected  as  to  the  manner  in  which  business  would  be 
adjusted  as  to  after  war  standards  and  stability. 

The  uncertainty  and  inconvenience  of  railroad  service 
was  a  most  annoying  obstacle  to  speedy  transaction  of  busi- 
ness in  1918  and  the  necessity  of  spending  much  time  in 
obtaining  and  verifying  individual  statements  of  workers 
regarding  home  life  and  its  demands,  particularly  the  effects 
of  the  high  cost  of  living,  food,  rent  and  clothing;  the  de- 
mands of  industries  previously  investigated  for  attention 
to  certain  difficulties,  and  .the  answering  of  the  appeals  of 
individual  workers  for  help  in  their  troubles,  consumed 
much  valuable  time. 

The  report  aims  to  be  a  concise  statement  of  the  facts 
and  conditions  in  the  state.  It  has  covered  a  number  of 
industries  which  technically  speaking  cannot  be  classed  as 
factories  but  which  played  their  part  in  no  mean  manner  in 
furnishing  aid  to  those  factories.  Much  which  was  most 
interesting  and  of  undoubted  although  not  immediate  value 
was  eliminated.  Health  statistics  have  been  turned  over 
to  those  who  can  put  them  to  immediate  advantage.  It  is 
hoped  that  sufficient  is  recorded  to  convey  a  clear  idea  of  the 
work  and  affairs  of  the  industrial  workers  and  the  industries 
of  the  state  in  the  most  momentous  epoch  of  Connecticut's 
history.  • 


6  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

Thanks  are  given  to  Mr.  Shiras  Morris  of  the  Hart  £ 
Hegeman  Co.  of  Hartford;  Mr.  Henry  S.  Sargent  of  the 
Sargent  Co.  of  New  Haven,  for  suggestions  as  to  financial 
statistics;  the  Scovill  Mfg.  Co.  of  Waterbury,  the  Cheney 
Brothers  of  South  Manchester,  the  Travelers  Ins.  Co.  the 
Hartford  Rubber  Works,  the  Merrow  Machine  Co.  and  Mr. 
Charles  F.  Murray  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  Union,  all  of  Hart- 
ford; and  Mr.  L.  0.  Pethick  of  the  Winchester  Repeating 
Arms  Co.  of  New  Haven  for  special  courtesies. 

Unfailing  courtesy  and  valuable  aid,  altogether  volun- 
tary, were  received  by  the  Investigator  from  all  the  firms 
and  industries  with  the  exception  of  six,  five  of  which  were 
in  Hartford  and  one  in  New  Britain ;  a  most  wonderful  rec- 
ord of  patience  and  co-operation  on  the  part  of  men  whose 
minds  were  occupied  with  vast  business  affairs  and  who 
were  harassed  by  a  multitude  of  petty  as  well  as  serious 
annoyances. 

CHARLOTTE  MOLYNEUX  HOLLOWAY. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


WOMEN  AND  OTHERS  IN  INDUSTRIAL  PLANTS. 

In  1915-16  when  the  demand  of  the  fighting  nations  in 
Europe  for  ammunition  was  heavy,  and  many  plants  in  the 
United  States  were  supplying  their  needs,  a  large  number  of 
women  entered  the  ranks  of  munition  workers. 

Before  1910,  women  were  mostly  employed  in  the  textile 
industries.  Since  then  they  have  rapidly  become  numerous 
in  brass,  silver,  copper  and  iron  works.  It  is  during  the 
past  six  years  that  they  have  become  an  important  factor 
in  filling  shells,  priming,  drilling,  milling,  bending  tubes, 
etc.,  in  short  in  doing  work  formerjy  held  as  man's  special 
province. 

Not  only  have  they  gained  entrance  into  many  places  of 
this  sort  but  they  have  tasted  the  sweetness  of  high  wages 
and  are  loth  to  relinquish  the  work  which  gains  such  re- 
ward. This  is  indicated  by  the  demonstration  of  the  women 
workers  of  Great  Britain  who  were  discharged  because 
their  work  ended  with  the  armistice,  and  because  it  was 
held  that  whatever  employment  of  that  character  was  to  be 
had  in  the  future  should  be  given  to  the  soldiers  who  were 
returning  penniless  after  four  years  of  war. 

To  quote  from  the  cable :  "Five  hundred  of  these  women, 
all  richly  dressed,  marched  to  the  government  offices  de- 
manding that  they  be  retained  in  employment." 

Such  a  proceeding  was  not  duplicated  in  America,  for 
however  much  we  are  becoming  metamorphosed,  American 
women  are  of  somewhat  different  fibre.  However  this 
country  is  becoming  so  radically  changed  from  its  tradi- 
tions, and  Bolshevikism  and  Prussianism  under  the  form  of 
new  systems  are  taking  hold  of  so  many  elements,  it  is  hard 
to  say  what  will  happen  in  the  transition  period  from  the 
height  of  activity  to  the  sudden  plunge  into  inertness  which 
came  upon  the  country  in  November,  1918.  The  intelligent 
observer  who  has  been  making  a  component  whole  out  of 
detached  happenings  cannot  fail  to  see  there  is  a  dangerous 
spirit  of  unrest  and  a  tendency  to  insist  that  the  ceasing  of 
the  war  makes  a  demobilization  of  labor  rather  than  a 
shifting. 

Nor  can  this  be  laid  exclusively  at  the  door  of  the  foreign 
born.  When  the  peace  parades  drew  into  their  ranks  thous- 
ands of  workers,  many  of  those  marchers  who  only  knew 


8  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

enough  English  to  count  money  were  among  the  most  sin- 
cere rejoicers  over  the  stopping  of  carnage  although  they 
knew  it  meant  pecuniary  loss. 

It  is  a  significant,  though  not  at  all  a  sinister  fact,  that 
1918  finds  women  taking  more  active  interest  in  labor  meet- 
ings and  demonstrations  than  ever  before.  The  reason  is, 
they  have  never  before  been  so  largely  concerned  with  the 
question  of  wages.  And  they  have  the  right  to  feel  they 
were  a  vital  force  in  the  winning  of  the  war. 

It  was  not  merely  since  our  entrance  into  the  war  that 
women  munition  workers  were  helping  liberty.  Sunday, 
Dec.  21,  1918,  the  New  York  Sunday  Times  published  this 
excerpt  from  an  article  in  the  London  Chronicle:  "The 
indirect  help  of  America  which  was  available  to  the  Allies 
in  the  shape  of  finances,  food  and  war  supplies  was  at  least 
an  evidence  that  America,  though  neutral,  did  not  favor  Ger- 
many." Women  were  a  large  part  in  giving  that  indirect 
and  vital  aid. 

December  3,  1918,  in  Paris,  Marshal  Joffre  said  in  con- 
versation with  Dr.  Horatio  S.  Kraus  of  New  York :  "It  was 
the  weight  of  America,  her  moral  and  material  resources 
and  not  the  least  her  very  considerable  army  thrown  into 
the  balance  at  the  critical  moment  that  turned  the  scales  and 
won  the  victory." 

'And  it  was  the  splendid  enthusiasm  and  production  of  the 
great  army  that  stayed  at  home  which  made  it  possible  for 
the  army  of  two  million  abroad  to  do  its  work  so  effect- 
ively. 

The  true  patriotism  which  called  women  from  all  sorts 
of  homes  into  war  work  cannot  be  too  greatly  extolled. 
There  was  a  democracy  of  endeavor  which  cannot  fail  to 
have  good  results.  Its  effects  will  be  more  apparent  later. 

The  demand  for  greater  production  led  to  an  increase  in 
the  numbers  of  women  night  workers.  It  also  led  to  the 
employment  of  women  who  would  not  have  been  considered 
available  a  year  before.  Women  of  fifty  toiled  along  side 
of  girls  not  yet  out  of  their  teens.  The  ranks  of  other  in- 
dustries, notably  such  textiles  as  were  not  necessary  for 
war,  were  quickly  depleted.  Women  filled  the  places  vacat- 
ed by  men  in  offices,  stores  and  factories.  They  also  en- 
tered work  created  expressly  for  them. 

In  passing  it  should  be  recorded  that  despite  the  fact  the 
dry  goods  stores  of  the  state,  more  especially  in  Bridgeport, 
suffered  severely  by  the  exodus  of  women  workers  to  the 
munition  plants,  they  aided  cheerfully  in  furnishing  help. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  9 

In  that  city,  the  stores  had  displayed  in  their  windows 
conspicuous  signs  exhorting  women  to  enter  war  plants. 

Apart  from  the  women  always  accustomed  to  work  were 
hundreds  of  women  of  leisure  who  eagerly  started  into  the 
factories  to  do  their  best  for  the  freedom  of  the  world. 

Even  before  our  entrance  into  the  war  there  was  exag- 
geration of  the  number  of  women  working  nights.  Among 
people  who  were  paid  for  having  accurate  knowledge, 
the  impression  either  prevailed  or  was  allowed  to  prevail 
that  a  great  number  were  so  employed. 

The  truth  is,  that  in  the  state  at  the  close  of  1916,  but 
eleven  factories  employed  women  at  night,  and  in  1917,  the 
added  number  was  not  great.  When  the  second  draft  was 
ordered  the  possibility  of  having  to  utilize  woman  labor 
more  extensively  both  day  and  night  confronted  manufactu- 
rers as  a  near  probability  and  they  began  to  deluge  the  De- 
partment of  Labor  and  Factory  Inspection  with  letters  of 
inquiry  as  to  how  they  could  arrange  the  hours  for  their 
night  workers. 

The  manufacturers  of  the  state  have  been  scrupulous 
about  finding  out  the  limits  to  which  they  could  work 
women.  When  emergencies  arose,  such  as  the  making  of 
gas  masks,  they  endeavored  to  have  the  emergency  law 
invoked  to  effect  a  temporary  lifting  of  state  regulations 
that  workers  might  be  allowed  to  work  as  long  as  they 
were  willing ;  this  work  should  be  performed  with  the  under- 
standing that  it  was  overtime  to  be  paid  for  accordingly. 
The  State  authorities  could  see  no  way  that  the  laws  could 
be  temporarily  set  aside  and  the  result  was  that  the  manu- 
facturers to  whom  every  hour  was  vital  submitted  with  con- 
siderable grace.  They  also  lost  time  and  production  by 
the  enforcement  of  the  8-hour  law  on  government  contracts. 
In  many  places  where  firms  were  doing  part  government 
work  and  part  individual  orders,  this  was  a  source  of  con- 
stant trouble  and  dissatisfaction.  Where  it  was  wholly 
government  work,  it  was  less  disturbing  although  reducing 
production  by  11  hours  a  week  in  some  concerns  and  in 
others  by  7. 

The  matter  of  most  serious  moment  in  this  connection 
was  the  lessening  of  production.  Women  workers  in  the 
main  were  ready  and  willing  to  labor  10  hours  a  day  if  they 
could  achieve  the  task.  The  difficulties  made  by  the  short- 
er work  day  were  largely  offset  by  the  splendid  services 
of  women  of  leisure  who  entered  the  factories  and  made 
most  apt  pupils  and  cheerfully  toiled  at  any  task  so  that  it 
helped  production.  These  women  did  not  demur  at  any- 


10  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

thing;  physical  discomfort  and  weariness  were  met  with 
brave  and  smiling  faces  and  they,  proved  conclusively  their 
metal  and  worth  while  as  conclusively  speeding  the  work 
and  adding  to  its  excellence.  It  is  the  testimony  of  the  men 
in  the  places  where  they  labored  that  in  a  surprisingly  short 
time  they  became  experts  and  their  work  showed  not  only 
they  were  willing  with  their  hands,  but  that  their  hands 
were  directed  by  intelligence. 

In  the  brief  eighteen  months  of  our  participation  with  the 
allied  powers  in  the  war  for  the  destruction  of  might  makes 
right  the  women  of  America  as  a  whole,  and  of  Connecticut 
as  a  large  part,  showed  in  their  achievements  in  war  supply 
work  a  determination  and  patriotism  that  were  wonderful. 
They  did,  at  the  entrance  of  the  war,  without  the  compulsion 
either  of  laws  or  necessity,  what  the  women  of  France, 
Italy  and  Great  Britain  were  doing  at  the  end  of  two  years 
and  nine  months,  -and  bear  it  in  mind  that  Connecticut 
women  workers  were  not  given  equal  pay  with  the  men  as 
were  some  of  the  women  of  Great  Britain,  nor  were  they 
pampered  by  continual  gifts  of  "war  bonuses"  to  keep  them 
in  good  humor.  They  were  the  stuff  of  which  heroes  and 
martyrs  were  made.  While  the  men  workers  in  some  plants 
showed  a  regrettable  disposition  to  interrupt  labor  by 
strikes,  the  women  were  more  faithful  in  all  respects.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  all  of  the  women  work- 
ers in  this  state,  more  than  in  any  other,  were  actuated  by 
absolute  patriotism  without  regard  for  pay  in  entering  this 
work.  Conversation  with  hundreds  of  them  in  different, 
plants  showed  they  were  all  keenly  aware  of  the  monetary 
value  of  their  work  and  many  of  them  finding  that  one  plant 
paid  more  than  another  did  not  hesitate  to  go  there.  But 
they  had  the  woman-characteristic  of  sticking  to  their  job 
rather  better  than  the  men. 

Not  only  in  the  ranks  of  manual  laborers,  but  in  the  cler- 
ical, agricultural,  postal,  telegraphic,  insurance  and  railway 
service,  police  work,  elevators,  etc.,  have  women  taken 
places  as  men  were  mobilized.  Pre-war  conditions  of  wom- 
en having  been  in  some  of  these  occupations,  made  their 
general  entrance  less  exploited  than  their  increase  as  muni- 
tion workers.  Really,  there  has  been  so  much  prominence 
given  in  the  talk  and  books  of  those  dealing  with  women's 
munitions  work  that  justice  is  hardly  done  to  the  thousands 
of  women  who  were  working  in  other  than  war  tool  produc- 
tion. It  is  less  a  rarity  to  see  a  woman  inspecting  cartridg- 
es than  to  witness  her  lowering  a  railway  gate,  running  an 
elevator,  or  swinging  a  policeman's  club.  In  one  way,  the 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  11 

rather  matter-of-fact  manner  in  which  women  took  up  these 
unaccustomed  callings  resembles  the  French  rather  than 
any  other  nation.  The  French  women  knew  this  work 
must  be  done  and  they  proceeded  to  do  it  as  quickly  and 
quietly  as  possible. 

In  France  there  was  no  appeal  to  the  popular  imagination, 
no  creation  of  superfluous  bureaus  to  provide  places  for  men 
and  women  who  should  have  been  in  the  trenches  or  the 
factories,  no  sending  forth  of  an  army  of  paid  lecturers 
to  show  other  countries  what  it  was  doing.  The  French 
method  as  described  in  the  Bulletin  des  Usines  de  Guerre 
appeals  to  the  real  democratic  mind;  at  first  there  was  a 
reluctance  in  employing  women  and  it  was  thought  that 
workers  could  be  imported  from  the  colonies  in  sufficient 
number  to  get  out  the  work  needed,  but  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  enemy  checked  this  and  women  were  working  in 
large  numbers  in  1915;  inspectors  were  appointed  to  see 
that  the  women  workers  in  the  factories  were  well  cared 
for  and  treated ;  where  it  was  necessary  to  transport  them 
from  one  locality  to  another  the  intending  employers  were 
requested  to  have  proper  provision  made  for  their  housing 
and  comfort  and  they  were  guaranteed  they  would  not  be 
cut  down  on  their  piece  work.  The  French  government 
has  not  and  apparently  does  not  intend  to  make  all  the  re- 
ports of  its  inspectors  public  property,  evidently  acting 
under  the  belief  that  as  long  as  the  workers  were  properly 
treated  and  their  comfort  and  sanitation  cared  for,  there 
should  be  as  little  exploitation  of  individual  establishments 
as  possible. 

Munition  was  the  first  necessity  in. France  when  women 
entered  the  work  in  large  enough  numbers  to  become  dis- 
tinct factors.  There  were  44,162  in  1914.  In  January, 
1918,  there  were  399,631  or  23%  of  the  entire  workers. 
While  the  British  and  Prussian  government  pursued  the 
plan  of  a  tight  hold  on,  and  in  pursuance  thereof  took  control 
and  oversight  of,  munition  plants,  France  from  the  first  held 
aloof  as  far  as  possible  from  government  domination  and 
although  it  took  some  interest  in  1917,  the  factories  were 
almost  wholly  controlled  by  their  owners  and  managers. 

So  rapid  and  efficient  was  the  output  that  Great  Britain 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  study  French  production,  "to 
report  the  causes  which  contributed  to  the  enormous  in- 
crease which  has  taken  place  in  the  production  of  munitions 
in  that  country  not-withstanding  that  one-eight  of  the  coun- 
try and  five-eights  of  its  metallurgical  activity  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy."  The  commission  says  in  its  report: 


12  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

"It  is  remarkable  that  this  fact  is  due  to  private  enterprise. 
No  factories  have  been  subsidized  by  the  government  nor 
have  loans  of  any  kind  been  made  to  the  owners.  The  own- 
ers have  at  comparative  prices  taken  orders  from  the 
government  and  on  the  strength  of  these  orders  have  pur- 
chased land,  built  factories,  procured  machinery  and  now 
depend  on  the  contract  prices  for  reimbursement  of  their 
outlay  and  gaining  the  profit  to  which  they  are  entitled." 

Some  interesting  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  this 
statement  of  the  business-like  and  quiet  manner  in  which 
France  with  the  enemy  in  its  land  applied  common  sense 
to  business  propositions. 

The  testimony  coming  from  a  country  whose  first  act  was 
to  create  numberless  bureaus  and  commissions  and  divi- 
sions and  government  control,  has  great  weight. 

Night  work  for  women  was  not  looked  upon  with  any 
great  favor  by  the  French  government,  which  adopted  it 
only  through  great  necessity.  It  was  not  until  the  end  of 
1916,  when  all  the  women  accustomed  to  wage  earning  were 
employed,  that  a  call  was  made  for  those  who  were  at  home, 
wives  and  widows  of  soldiers,  receivers  of  allotments,  and 
refugees.  Then  all  factories  ran  night  shifts  when  the 
women  worked  the  same  hours  as  men.  These  were  ten 
hours  and  sometimes  twelve.  There  was  a  break  of  from 
one  to  two  hours  in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  one  hour  for 
midnight. 

The  British  commission  said  that  the  women  and  men,  too, 
for  that  matter,  used  the  rest  periods  in  singing  and  enjoy- 
ing themselves  and  went  back  to  their  work  refreshed,  show- 
ing no  signs  of  fatigue.  When  the  work  was  progressing 
some  time  it  was  ordered  that  one  day  of  rest  weekly  should 
be  given  all  women  workers.  That  day  was  Sunday,  as  a 
general  thing,  though  another  day  could  be  substituted.. 
Wages  were  regulated  by  women  doing  women's  work 
being  paid  the  normal  rate  for  the  district  for  that  kind 
of  work.  Women  on  new  work  caused  by  the  war  were 
paid  on  the  basis  of  the  rates  for  the  sort  of  work  most  re- 
sembling it  previously.  Women  doing  the  same  work  as 
men,if  they  did  it  wholly,  received  the  same  pay  as  men.  The 
French  did  not  establish  training  schools  and  camps  for 
women's  instruction  as  did  the  British.  That  sort  of  work 
was  done  directly  in  the  factories. 

Numberless  French  reports  convey  most  interesting  de- 
tails respecting  the  methods  pursued  during  the  war,  the 
summary  being  that  all  was  done  with  as  little  exploitation, 
multiplication  of  offices  and  expenses'  as  possible.  Factory 


WAGE^EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  13 

inspectors  and  a  department  created  checked  tendencies  to 
overwork;  restrictions  on  night  work  for  women  were  im- 
mediately made  and  inspectors  were  ordered  in  June,  1916, 
not  to  allow  the  employment  of  girls  under  18  or  of  women 
between  18  and  21  unless  there  was  absolute  scarcity  of 
other  labor.  Particular  stress  was  laid  on  sparing  women 
who  had  young  children.  In  February,  1918,  orders  were 
given  to  abolish  all  night  work  for  women  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Many  young  women  were  working  at  night;  "when 
either  the  father  or  mother  or  both  parents  work  on  a  night 
shift  they  demand  that  their  young  sons  or  daughters  work 
with  them  as  in  this  way  it  is  easier  to  arrange  the  family 
life  with  respect  to  meals,  sleep  and  the  proper  oversight  of 
the  young  people." 

It  was  noted  by  the  British  Commission  that  all  work  ex- 
cept tool  room  work,  setting  up  and  floor  labor  was  paid  at 
piece  rate,  the  rates  of  men  and  women  being  the  same. 
However,  it  was  discovered  by  the  government  that  employ- 
ers had  been  cutting  the  piece  work  rates  on  account  of  the 
dexterity  of  the  workers,  and  an  order  was  given  that  this 
must  cease.  It  is  recorded  with  significant  stress  by  the 
commission :  "No  general  demand  for  advance  in  wages  has 
been  made  by  the  working  people  since  the  commencement 
of  the  war."  This  Elysian  state  did  not  continue  all 
through,  though,  for  the  advance  in  the  cost  of  living 
brought  some  strikes  in  the  close  of  1916  and  by  August  of 
1917,  rates  had  been  fixed  so  that  women  received  from  lie 
to  $2.70  a  day  for  day  work.  Piece  work  rates  were  left  un- 
changed. 

Before  the  war  broke  out,  England  out  of  4,500,000,  had 
3,235,000  women  working  in  textile,  clothing,  food,  paper, 
printing  and  metal  business.  Clerks,  agricultural  workers, 
civil  service,  government  and  transport  service,  other  oc- 
cupations and  the  1,750,000  in  domestic  service  brought  up 
the  aggregate  of  women  accustomed  to  work  for  wages  to 
5,000,000  as  a  conservative  estimate.  The  outbreak  of  the 
war  was  disastrous  to  those  working  in  the  clothing,  mil- 
linery, dressmaking  and  laundry  business. 

In  the  Unted  States  these  trades  were  also  somewhat  af- 
fected, but  in  this  country  by  far  the  greatest  trouble  was 
their  desertion  in  droves  to  enter  the  lucrative  munition 
works.  In  Great  Britain,  as  here,  the  clothing  workers 
were  the  first  to  resume  and  increase  as  the  demand  for 
immediate  delivery  of  soldiers'  wear  became  imperative. 
In  England  and  the  rest  of  the  British  isles  a  public  cam- 
paign was  at  once  started  to  have  women  enter  munition 


14  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

factories.  It  was  well  met.  But  this,  however,  cannot  be 
called  an  increase  of  women  workers  as  long  as  it  was  from 
habitual  wage  earning  women  that  the  places  of  men  con- 
scripted into  the  army  were  filled.  It  was  rather  a  transfer 
of  labor. 

Practically  the  same  shifting  of  labor  from  non-essential 
to  essential  war  industries  in  the  state  of  Connectcut  can  be 
seen  by  analysis  of  the  factory  report  of  the  factory  division 
of  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Factory  Inspection  of  this 
state  as  well  as  from  the  figures  which  will  be  elsewhere 
given  in  this  report.  Popularly  it  is  supposed  that  labor 
has  increased  about  60%  in  the  state.  This  has  been  fos- 
tered by  the  desertion  of  one  branch  of  labor  for  another 
that  is  more  the  center  of  public  attention.  So  much  atten- 
tion has  been  focussed  on  the  munition  plant  that  it  might 
readily  be  thought  by  those  outside  the  state  that  it  was  the 
one  industry  going  in  Connecticut.  Quite  the  contrary. 
There  have  been  many  other  concerns  which  contributed 
essentially  to  war  work  and  to  prosperity.  Another  factor 
not  taken  into  calculation  has  been  the  abandonment  of 
dress-making,  teaching,  millinery,  cooking,  waitress  work, 
domestic  service  to  gain  the  profits  and  greater  freedom  of 
the  factory.  This  swells  the  aggregate. 

To  take  the  figures  of  the  Factory  report  which  will  dif- 
fer somewhat  from  the  figures  of  this,  as  they  were  taken 
at  different  times  and  do  not  comprise  as  many  industries 
as  the  Industrial  report  has  grouped  together:  In  1913 
there  were  employed  in  the  factories,  pure  and  simple, 
127,297  men  and  43,380  women,  or  a  total  of  169,677 ;  in 
1914,  176,214  men  and  67,002  women,  or  a  total  of  243,406 ; 
in  1915,  238,267  men  and  67,092  women,  or  a  total  of  305,- 
359 ;  in  1916,  244,616  men  and  75,981  women,  total  320,597 ; 
in  1917,  269,151  men  and  79,360  women,  or  a  total  of  347, 
511 ;  in  1918,  355,994,  of  whom  269,007  are  men  and  86,991 
women.  The  increase  from  the  close  of  1913  to  the  close  of 
1918  was  41,710  men,  or  32.76%  ;  of  women  44,611  or  105%. 
The  increase  from  our  entrance  into  the  war  in  1917  to  the 
close  of  1918  is  from  268,151  men  to  269,007,  856,  or  over 
3%,  and  from  79,360  women  to  86,981,,  or  7,627,  or  prac- 
tically 10%.  From  1913  to  1914  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  factory  employees  was  48,917  men  and  24,712  women; 
from  1914  to  1915  62,053  men  and  no  increase  of  women; 
from  1915  to  1916,  6,349  men  and  4,889  women ;  from  1916 
to  1917,  23,535  men  and  2,279  women;  from  1917  to  1918, 
856  men  and  7,627  women.  In  all,  the  increase  in  the  total 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  15 

number  of  factory  workers  from  1913  to  1918  was  from 
169,677  to  355,994,  or  186,317,  or  109.21%. 

This  increase  in  factory  workers  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  state  produced  not  only  war  supplies  for  outside  but 
over  45%  of  all  the  munitions  used  in  the  late  war  by  us,  and 
about  70%  of  the  other  essentials  which  were  necessary  for 
the  successful  carrying  on  of  the  war.  From  the  beginning 
of  1915  there  was  a  steady  influx  of  labor  from  other  states 
to  Connecticut,  the  men  coming  from  Vermont,  New  Hamp- 
shire, northern  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  from 
Kansas  and  from  Canada.  Very  few  women  came  in  com- 
parison with  the  men.  Much  of  that  labor  returned  even 
before  the  war  ended. 

This  was  caused  by  labor  disputes  over  bonuses  which 
were  offered  and  w-hich  agents  for  manufacturers  persuaded 
men  were  to  be  granted  on  altogether  different  terms  from 
those  actually  prevailing.  Much  trouble  over  the  bonus 
system  developed  in  the  largest  ammunition  factory  in 
Hartford  and  as  a  result  hundreds  of  the  employees  left  in 
1917,  returning  to  New  York,  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

Since  the  armistice  has  been  signed  there  has  been  a  rapid 
cancellation  of  contracts,  it  being  stated  in  a  dispatch  from 
Washington  that  $55,000,000  contracts  were  to  be  cancelled 
in  this  state.  Before  the  ending  of  the  week  of  December 
15th  thousands  of  men  had  been  released  from  work.  Wom- 
en have  not  been  relieved  in  as  great  numbers,  but  women 
who  went  to  work  simply  for  patriotic  motives,  who  were 
working  part  time  and  whose  ages  prevented  them  from  con- 
tinuing in  work,  left  as  soon  as  the  armistice  was  a  fact  and 
others  are  now  returning  to  other  occupations.  There  is  no 
scarcity  of  positions  for  women  in  clerking,  housework, 
nurse  maids,  laundry,  office  work  of  various  kinds,  insurance 
companies,  etc.  In  fact,  there  is  not  likely  to  be  so  great 
and  lasting  a  displacement  of  industrial  workers  as  there 
is  to  be  a  gradual  transfer.  The  high  percentage  attained 
in  factory  employment,  it  must  be  carefully  emphasized,  was 
caused  by  the  lowering  in  other  employments.  These  em- 
ployments are  necessities,  more  than  87%  essential  to  the 
community. 

In  the  factories  themselves,  many  engaged  on  war  work 
contracts  are  to  be  immeasurably  benefited  by  return  to 
private  work  and  their  own  supervision.  It  is  asserted  by 
many,  and  observation  in  a  few  cases  bore  out  the  asser- 
tion, that  the  knowledge  they  could  go  higher  than  the  own- 
ers and  managers  of  the  factory  has  not  resulted  in  steady 


16  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

application,  production  and  efficiency.  Instead  of  allaying 
dissatisfaction  it  has  in  some  cases  with  certain  grades  of 
people,  by  no  means  unintelligent,  caused  them  to  be  on 
the  qui  vive  for  something  of  which  to  complain.  One 
result  was  the  hedging  around  of  a  worker  with  so  many 
restrictions  he  preferred  to  remain  where  he  was  rather 
than  to  go  through  the  ordeal  of  changing,  and  thus  labor 
was  in  that  respect  stabilized.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pos- 
sibility of  appeals,  the  knowledge  of  higher  wage  rates  ob- 
tainable and  of  retroactive  decisions  really  made  a  labor 
turnover,  if  we  accept  its  scientific  definition  as  being  the 
loss  of  man  power,  through  laying  off,  sickness,  drunkeness, 
etc.,  as  well  as  through  being  discharged  and  quitting. 

One  effect  of  the  high  wages  and  constant  raising  was 
that  men  who  were  making  the  first  would  take  a  number 
of  days  off  instead  of  working  continuously.  The  number  of 
days  lost  in  this  way  has  been  considerable  and  in  many  in- 
dustries caused  the  need  of  overtime,  whereby  some  of  the 
culprits  were  gainers  on  account  of  being  paid  more  for  a 
situation  they  had  helped  to  create. 

According  to  a  survey  made  in  the  interval  from  the  llth 
of  November,  1918,  to  the  6th  of  January,  1919,  the  as- 
surance may  be  made  that  there  is  no  special  cause  for 
long  continued  alarm  over  the  industrial  situation  in  Con- 
necticut nor  fear  that  conditions  of  serious  labor  unemploy- 
ment, slacking  of  industry  and  general  depression  are  to 
prevail  a  great  length  of  time.  In  fact,  it  may  be  asserted 
that  the  attitude  taken  by  some  that  is  to  be  the  state  of 
affairs  is  productive  of  uneasiness,  restlessness  and  direct 
mischief  both  to  the  employer  and  the  employed.  There  is 
no  special  cause,  either  for  gloomy  foreboding  as  to  the  fu- 
ture of  any  other  state.  There  has  been  gross  exaggeration 
of  the  number  of  men  discharged  from  war  plants  and  the 
number  of  employed  in  the  various  cities.  It  was  stated 
that  in  Bridgeport  alone  in  the  week  ending  January  4th 
there  were  about  17,000  idle  as  a  result  of  discharge  from 
the  munition  and  other  war  plants.  A  careful  and  detailed 
examination  disclosed  just  5,000  who  remained  idle.  What 
is  true  of  Bridgeport  is  true  of  other  cities. 

One  of  the  state  employment  agencies  in  the  last  fortnight 
of  December  placed  several  hundred  men  with  a  large  iron 
concern,  and  another  state  employment  agency  sent  not  only 
men  to  this  concern  and  others  of  a  similar  nature,  but  also 
sent  a  large  number  to  a  federal  employment  agency  which 
was  seeking  to  help  out  the  situation.  The  largest  concern 
employing  men  and  women  in  the  state  is  in  New  Haven, 


A    TYPICAL     MODERN     FACTORY. 
J.   &   J.   Cash,   Ltd.,    South    Norwalk. 


A    CLUB    HOUSE    ON    THE    SAME    PREMISES. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  17 

the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Co.  That  concern  rose 
from  16,640  in  July  1916,  of  whom  2,717  were  women  and 
100  boys,  to  14,702  men  and  5,549  women  in  November, 
1918.  The  largest  employer  in  Hartford  had  3,100  in  1916, 
5,353  in  February,  1918,  and  on  November  1st,  1918,  had 
6,500  men  and  1,500  women.  The  normal  capacity  of  the 
New  Haven  concern  will  be  about  11,000,  of  the  Hartford 
not  less  than  2,600.  The  accretion  to  the  man -power  of 
these  concerns  was  made  up  of  more  than  75%  labor  from 
other  institutions.  Even  clerks  from  insurance  and  bank 
offices  and  teachers  were  among  the  workers  as  well  as  wom- 
en who  had  never  worked  anywhere  before.  Added  to  this 
was  a  large  number  from  the  typewriter  concerns,  the 
laundries,  stores  and  typists,  the  school  classes,  tobacco 
workers,  farm  hands,  trades,  and  unskilled  labor.  Students 
who  were  exempted  from  the  draft  were  working  in  large 
numbers  and  quit  in  October  when  the  colleges  opened. 

In  Waterbury  the  labor  situation  will  not  be  so  acute  as 
in  other  towns  for  the  qoncerns  there  have  an  abundance  of 
orders  to  be  filled,  apart  from  their  war  work,  and  will  have 
to  attend  to  the  waiting  list,  while  it  is  a  certainty  that  other 
orders  will  come  in  every  day. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  1918,  the  State  and  the  United 
States  employment  agencies  being  unable  to  help  the  Water- 
bury  manufacturers  by  furnishing  any  men,  application 
was  made  to  the  United  States  Ordnance  Department 
through  Mr.  Darragh  of  the  Washington  Department,  and 
1,000  soldiers  were  sent  from  Camp  Devens  to  the  Chase 
Metal  Works,  the  American  Brass  Co.  and  the  Scovill  Com- 
pany. Two  weeks  later  forty-two  more  soldiers  from  Camp 
Upton  were  detailed  to  the  Scovill  Company.  These  men, 
1,042,  have  returned  to  camp  and  their  number  has  to  be 
deducted  from  the  amount  of  unemployed. 

In  regard  to  unskilled  labor,  much  of  which  was  employed 
in  the  factories,  there  has  been  an  acute  shortage  all  over  the 
state,  but  notably  in  the  manufacturing  centers  for  the  en- 
tire year  of  1918,  reaching  its  climax  in  July.  The  wages 
that  unskilled  labor,  and  inefficient  labor  at  that,  commanded 
were  more  than  skilled  labor  could  draw  a  year  before.  It 
was  not  uncommon  to  pay  $4  and  $4.50  a  day  for  8  hours' 
work.  Colored  stevedores  were  receiving  $33.24  a  week 
of  48  hours  on  the  New  London  docks  from  the  New  Eng- 
land Navigation  Co.,  the  week  of  January  25,  1919.  The 
state  highway  department,  unable  to  secure  unskilled  labor 
on  its  road  work  had  to  employ  jail  help  for  which  it  paid 
$3  a  day  to  the  institution.  Even  with  this  many  roads 


18  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

needing  attention  and  many  projected  undertakings  had  to 
go  by  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  ordinary  help. 

Farm  help  has  been  and  will  be  needed.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  unskilled  laborers,  embracing  the  ordinary 
sort  and  agricultural  workers,  are  not  protected  by  union 
rules,  but  have  to  rely  on  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  for 
the  high  or  low  wage  rate.  Apropos  of  the  common  laboring 
man  not  being  unionized,  it  is  also  fair  to  state  that  a  very 
large  proportion  of  tradesmen,  highly  skilled  as  well  as 
moderately  proficient/  are  not  members  of  labor  unions 
either,  and  the  labor  union  in  fighting  for  continuance  of  a 
high  wage  rate  and  lower  hours  is  fighting  for  the  benefit  of 
men  who  have  never  evinced  any  interest  in  becoming  mem- 
bers. 

In  the  endeavor  to  have  their  contracts  filled  employment 
managers  accepted  material  which  they  would  have  turned 
away  at  the  first  glance  in  former  years.  Bootblacks  were 
utilized  in  some  cities.  A  little  instruction  made  the  labor- 
ing element  proficient  at  such  tasks  as  milling,  drilling  and 
carrying  cores  and  patterns.  90%"  of  these  workers  went 
into  the  war  work  for  the  higher  wages.  The  other  sort  of 
labor  was  also  actuated  by  the  wage  question,  as  the  fre- 
quent strikes,  walkouts  and  demands  proved.  Before  the  war 
began  in  Europe  wages  of  machinists  ranged  from  $16.50 
to  $21  and  $25  a  week,  and  the  latter  was  considered  high 
pay.  The  $16.50  man  received  $35  and  $40  during  the  war 
period  and  the  $25  man  often  as  much  as  $50  and  more, 
over  100%  advance. 

Women  were  advanced  in  considerably  less  degree.  Girls 
who  received  $8  a  week  in  dry  goods  stores  or  telephone 
office,  or  $12  as  stenographers  and  typists,  thinking  it  good 
pay  in  1914,  now  draw  from  $13.50  to  $22  a  week.  Domestic 
help  forsook  the  houses  to  join  in  the  work,  not  so  much  for 
the  greater  pay  but  for  the  greater  freedom  and  because  of 
the  patriotic  flavor.  The  latter  class  of  help,  many  of  the 
insurance,  bank,  office  and  teaching  class,  the  recruits  from 
the  laundries  and  other  forms  of  industry  will  all  be  grad- 
ually reabsorbed.  At  present  there  is  a  disinclination  to 
return  to  former  work,  fostered  by  the  belief  that  wages 
will  be  kept  up,  willy  nilly.  The  statement  of  Mr.  Gompers 
and  others  that  they  must  be  kept  up  has  held  many  a  work- 
er from  a  steady  job  which  would  take  him  away  from  the 
ranks  of  the  unemployed. 

The  thoughtful  laboring  man,  whether  skilled  machinist 
or  tradesman  of  some  other  class,  whether  union  man  or 
non-union,  must  be  able  to  forecast  the  inevitable  situation 


WAGE^EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  19 

and  see  that  war  rates  cannot  be  maintained  with  war  bon- 
uses, etc.,  or  without  them,  though  he  undoubtedly  will  also 
see  that  return  to  the  rate  of  wages  current  in  1914  is  not 
a  prospect  which  he  desires  to  face,  inasmuch  as  the  cost 
of  living  will  not  proportionately  descend.  Much  work  at 
high  rate  is  still  to  be  had  in  and  out  of  the  state.  Many 
areas  have  insufficient  help  today  and  will  need  workers  for 
the  whole  of  the  year  on  the  contracts  which  are  to  be 
finished.  Other  industries  in  the  state  which  have  deferred 
orders  are  now  going  to  take  them  up  and  demand  for  Amer- 
ican production  is  bound  to  be  great  instead  of  small  for 
export  trade. 

As  stated  before,  the  hard  cold  fact  of  figures  as  embodied 
in  the  factory  and  the  industrial  report  of  the  state  shows 
that  there  has  not  been  such  an  increase  of  workers  in  the 
state  as  popularly  held.  Out  of  state  workers  are  leaving 
for  other  fields.  The  typewriter  industries  in  Hartford 
reabsorbed  a  large  proportion  of  the  men  and  women  who 
left  them  helter  skelter  for  munition  work  or  who  were  let 
go  to  aid  the  war  work.  Several  of  these  concerns  are  still 
hiring  women  and  men. 

An  element  which  is  going  to  cause  some  serious  situ- 
ations is  undoubtedly  the  introduction  of  women  in  men's 
jobs.  Miss  Mary  Van  Kleeck  said  on  Thursday,  December 
5th,  1918,  "It  is  not  to  be  assumed  these  women  went  into 
the  work  for  patriotism.  Not  more  than  5%  of  them  did 
that.  They  were  after  the  money."  While  the  investigator 
would  increase  the  percentage  of  patriotic  women  more  than 
Miss  Van  Kleeck's  allowance,  she  was  right  in  the  main.  She 
is  now  addressing  gatherings  of  women  in  the  Middle  States 
and  elsewhere  urging  them  to  form  trades  unions  in  order 
to  retain  their  pay  and  protect  themselves.  It  has  been  the 
policy  of  the  officials  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Labor  at  Washington  to  encourage  the  forming  of  trades 
unions.  ^ 

Labor  unionism  has  a  hard  problem  before  it  if  these 
women  do  not  take  the  advice  of  Miss  Van  Kleeck  and  num- 
erous others.  The  refusal  means  the  cutting  down  of  the 
man's  pay,  for  rather  than  be  out  of  work  the  women  will 
work  for  a  lower  wage  and  will  do  just  as  good  work  at  that 
rate  as  men  do  at  a  higher. 

Whatever  the  outcome,  there  is  one  conclusion  which  can 
be  deduced  from  the  ordinary  proceedings  of  the  business 
and  social  world  for  the  time  elapsing  from  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  to  the  entrance  of  our  country  into  the  war^ 
We  cheerfully  and  gladly  threw  aside  all  our  traditions  and 


20  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

practices  and  welcomed  any  ruling,  whether  bureaucratic 
or  autocratic,  that  added  to  the  chances  of  winning  the  war. 
Consequently,  every  experimenter  and  socialist  and  longer 
for  position  started  a  new  commission,  division  or  bureau. 
The  war  is  over.  These  excrescences  should  at  once  be 
lopped  off  and  the  United  States  return  to  the  plain,  com- 
mon-sense method  of  business  and  government  that  enabled 
it  to  be  the  financial  and  moral  savior  of  the  world,  and  to 
the  freedom  of  individual  rights  that  made  the  millions  of 
bureau-ridden  Europe  come  here  to  draw  a  full  breath  and 
amass  education,  self-reliance  and  a  full  purse. 

Work  that  may  profitably  and  equitably  be  left  to  the 
skilled  or  unskilled  laborer  who  may  need  work  is  that 
which  has  been  proposed  to  the  highway  commission  to  be 
done  by  prisoners  from  the  state  prison,  jails  and  refor- 
matories. It  might  have  been  possible  to  do  this  with  more 
or  less  success  while  the  war  was  raging  and  there  was  a 
demand  for  men  across  and  at  training  camps,  but  there  is 
no  excuse  for  it  when  free  men  are  available.  The  em- 
ployment of  prison  labor  at  the  expense  of  free  labor  is  un- 
American  and  should  not  be  permitted. 

The  state  has  to  guard  against  too  great  a  departure 
from  former  usages  and  too  eager  adoption  of  transconti- 
nental methods  which  prevail  there  because  there  is  no 
chance  for  any  other.  The  question  of  the  economic  situa- 
tion had  better  be  left  to  the  employer  and  the  employee. 
Each  is  vitally  interested  and  can  manage  to  get  together 
better  without  rather  than  with  overseers.  While  labor 
may  think  that  some  of  the  recent  enactments  were  dis- 
tinctly-to  its  advantage,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer  they 
were  simply  war  measures  which  should  be  annulled  now 
without  waiting  for  the  signing  of  peace.  The  laborer  is 
not  only  worthy  of  his  hire  but  he  should  have  the  privilege 
of  vending  it  and  selecting  his  own  environment.  That  he 
can  ever  market  it  at  a  price  which  can  be  received  without 
the  co-operation  of  others  is  not  possible  nor  will  a  fair 
minded  laborer  so  desire.  Economic  sabotage  would  be  a 
calamity  as  bad  as  socialism  under  the  guise  of  another 
name. 

What  capital  and  labor  need  is  more  individual  liberty, 
not  action  under  centralized  and  remote  authority.  A  man 
should  have  a  right  to  govern  his  own  business  as  he  governs 
his  own  home  with  decent  regard  for  the  rights  of  others 
and  willingness  to  help  them  and  others.  A  man's  factory 
or  shop  ought  to  be  and  is  his  own  personal  property  in 
which  he  has  the  right  to  shape  a  policy  and  whose  inmates 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  21 

he  should  have  the  liberty  to  choose.  They  in  turn  should 
have  the  right  to  remain  if  he  treats  them  equitably  or 
leave  if  he  is  unjust,  and  they  should  have  the  right  to  value 
their  labor  as  he  has  the  right  to  reject  or  accept  their  terms. 
Local  conditions,  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  must  be  the 
arbiter.  Outside  conditions  enter  in  as  comparative  because 
it  would  be  as  manifestly  unjust  to  ask  a  man  in  Brideport 
to  labor  for  what  would  be  a  fair  compensation  in  Saybrook, 
as  it  would  be  for  a  man  in  Saybrook  to  demand  what  he 
would  receive  in  Bridgeport.  The  general  wage  rate  as 
fixed  by  unions  and  capital  cannot  vary  much  but  it  has  to 
vary  some  according  to  the  law  of  demand  and  supply. 

Nor  could  an  arbitrator  from  Kalamazoo  have  full  com- 
prehension which  would  enable  him  to  pass  with  judgment 
on  a  situation  in  Clinton.  Should  the  eight  hour  law  be 
extended  it  will  afford  employment  to  more,  doing  away 
with  the  need  of  overtime.  As  far  as  exemplified,  this 
centralized  ruling  has  been  productive  of  these  conditions : 
Dissatisfaction,  incompetency,  discourtesy,  expense,  it  is 
distinctly  un-American  and  we  are  too  early  from  the  war 
to  be  willing  to  have  Prussianized  systems  foisted  on  us 
no  matter  how  filtered.  The  doctrine  of  individual  rights 
was  fought  for  in  1775,  reiterated  in  1865,  and  should  be 
confirmed  and  cemented  indissolubly  in  1919  rather  than 
insidiously  disintegrated. 

There  is  only  one  fair  way  to  fix  wages,  efficiency.  Labor 
unions  and  manufacturers  should  understand  this,  and  also 
if  they  wish  to  have  justice  they  want  to  be  able  to  have 
representatives  of  the  people  say  who  shall  legislate  for  the 
people.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  put  private  enter- 
prises, great  and  small,  under  the  control  of  a  monopoly, 
whether  a  government  or  a  trust,  and  have  no  serious  re- 
sultant evils.  The  evil  in  the  first  place  is  the  fostering 
and  development  of  a  great  political  machine  which  makes 
the  control  of  the  enterprise  secondary  to  the  question  of 
the  advantage  to  which  it  may  be  turned  politically.  The 
trust  has  the  disadvantage  of  smothering  competition,  but 
it  has  the  redeeming  feature  of  serving  the  customer  more 
expeditiously  and  more  cheaply  than  could  a  dozen  of  its 
united  parts  if  standing  alone.  The  government  control  has 
no  record  of  expeditious,  satisfactory  and  cheap  service  in 
any  country  in  which  it  has  been  tried. 

One  proof  of  the  exodus  of  the  transient  worker  is  shown 
in  the  numerous  "rooms  for  rent"  signs  which  are  displayed 
throughout  the  rooming  house  section  in  the  big  industrial 
centers.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  many  of  the  more 


22  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

than  70,000  men  who  were  drafted  either  for  over-seas  or 
camp  service  will  never  come  back  to  their  former  occupa- 
tions, having  gone  on  the  long  journey  to  the  bourne  whence 
none  return.  Some  have  obtained  employment  in  other 
states.  Others  have  decided  to  rejnain  over-seas  and  a  num- 
ber will  be  retained  in  the  army  and  navy  which  prudence 
forces  us  to  enlarge. 

Further,  our  immigration  is  at  a  standstill  and  is  likely  to 
be  for  at  least  five  years.  There  will  be  no  influx  from 
abroad  but  rather  an  exodus  from  here.  The  American 
Federation  of  Labor  at  its  meeting  in  December,  1918,  re- 
ceived from  its  secretary,  Frank  Morrison,  a  resolution  ask- 
ing Congress  to  ban  immigration  for  a  period  of  five  years. 
That  resolution  is  hardly  necessary  or  wise.  It  is  likely  to 
be  a  serious  question  where  we  are  to  get  the  labor  for  our 
public  work  rather  than  how  we  are  to  reject  it.  The  war- 
ridden  countries  need  all  the  labor  they  can  obtain.  Steam- 
ship companies  are  already  beset  with  inquiries  from  men 
and  women  who  wish  to  return  to  their  native  land  and  who 
believe  they  can  get  along  well  there  under  the  increased 
demand  for  work  and  increase  in  wages.  Many  of  these 
people  have  been  earning  phenomenal  wages  for  the  past 
four  years  and  they  are  eager  to  return  to  Italy  and  Poland 
to  enrich  their  home  land. 

Returning  and  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  have  to  be 
helped  and  placed.  The  other  class  of  workers  temporarily 
out  of  place  or  shifted  will  be  harmed  rather  than  helped 
by  any  endeavor  to  standardize  wages  at  present  or  by  too 
much  interference.  In  the  opinion  of  the  investigator  the 
employer  and  the  employee  have  been  sufferers  from  too 
much  interference  and  as  long  as  it  continues  there  will  be 
lack  of  mutual  understanding  and  co-operation. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  23 


THE  EFFECT  OF  THE  INFLUENZA  EPIDEMIC  ON 
THE  INDUSTRIAL  WORKERS  OF  THE  STATE. 

The  most  unexpected  evil  which  affected  the  industrial 
workers  of  the  state  in  cutting  down  their  ranks  and  halting 
their  production,  and  also  seriously  menaced  men  and  wom- 
en in  every  class,  was  the  epidemic  of  so-called  Spanish  In- 
fluenza which  swept  over  the  state  in  the  fall  of  1918  and 
which  has  continued  in  a  lessened  degree  through  the  month 
of  January,  1919. 

Fortunately  it  came  too  late  to  greatly  cripple  the  war 
work  of  the  great  army  that  stayed  at  home.  Had  it  come 
three  months  earlier  it  would  not  only  have  periled  the  suc- 
cess of  the  American  army  but  also  have  hampered  the  Al- 
lies from  winning  through  our  help.  Its  cause  and  charac- 
ter have  not  yet  been  scientifically  determined.  However, 
this  can  be  frankly  stated  and  should  be  stated  with  empha- 
sis: It  found  existing  health  regulations  easily  conquered. 
Its  spread  and  effects  were  in  no  small  part  attributable  to 
carelessness,  over-confidence  and  under  estimation  of  its 
danger  at  the  critical  period  when  a  masterly  grasp  would 
have  checked  its  advance. 

Three  hundred  thousand  people  of  the  conservative  esti- 
mate of  one  million  and  a  quarter  in  this  state  were  victims 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Over  6,000  died. 

Proper  power  delegated  to  boards  of  health,  proper  equip- 
ment and  promptness  on  the  part  of  boards  of  health,  proper 
enforcement  of  health  regulations  would  have  resulted  in 
the  saving  of  lives  of  thousands  some  of  whom  would  have 
been  of  great  benefit  to  the  state. 

Some  individuals  attacked  were  careless  of  others'  safety ; 
some  were  ignorant  of  means  of  defense  and  delayed  con- 
sulting medical  skill  until  the  disease  had  a  firm  hold ;  others 
were  too  weakened  to  make  resistance.  A  pitiably  large 
number  were  so  circumstanced  that  protection  by  isolation 
was  out  of  the  question.  Many  were  succumbing  before 
they  realized  they  were  in  danger;  Connecticut,  like  many 
other  states,  lacked,  at  the  outset  and  in  some  towns,  all  the 
way  through,  prompt  and  efficient  coordination  of  one  lo- 
cality, whether  city  or  village,  with  its  neighbors.  Much 
precious  time  was  wasted  in  questions  of  authority  and  in 


24  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

making  preparations  which  should  have  been  existent  be- 
fore the  emergency  arose. 

A  few  boards  of  health  were  torpid  and  wobbling,  but  it 
would  be  unjust  to  make  a  sweeping  criticism  of  all.  The 
majority  did  splendid  work  from  the  beginning.  In  many 
towns  there  has  been  too  much  of  a  niggardly  and  restrict- 
ive policy  for  the  boards  to  accomplish  as  much  as  they 
should. 

It  cannot  be  guaranteed  that  the  disease  has  had  its  run. 
Analyses  have  not  yet  offered  hope  that  science  can  success- 
fully prevent  its  becoming  recurrent.  Its  sporadic  returns 
have  been  both  violent  and  deadly. 

All  industrial  concerns  had  their  work  interrupted.  Sev- 
eral were  menaced  with  complete  cessation.  One  corpora- 
tion had  over  three  thousand  on  its  sick  list  out  of  a  force 
of  fifteen  thousand ;  another  having  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
employes  had  thirty-five  deaths  in  a  week. 

The  epidemic  started  possibly  a  week  before  the  official 
date,  September  10,  as  many  at  first  assumed  it  was  the 
usual  fall  cold,  and  failed  to  report.  September  18th,  1918, 
the  state  board  of  health  made  the  cases  reportable  and  a 
systematic  endeavor  was  made  to  control  the  situation. 
From  September  10th  to  October  31st,  the  number  of  cases 
in  the  state  was  87,097  and  of  deaths  5,022,  or  a  little  over 
5.7%.  The  entire  number  of  cases  up  to  the  end  of  Nov- 
ember as  given  to  the  writer,  December  3rd,  1918,  was 
93,620  and  of  deaths  6,265.  It  is  worth  noting  that  it  was 
generally  believed  by  the  first  of  November  that  the  plague 
was  well  on  the  wane,  yet  in  this  month  the  cases  showed 
6,523  and  the  deaths  1,243,  or  over  19%.  December  7 
showed  the  total  number  of  cases  reported  as  102,797.  Jan- 
uary, 1919,  reported  an  outbreak  of  the  same  in  localities 
widely  separated. 

It  has  to  be  remembered  that  many  were  ill  who  recov- 
ered and  who  never  had  the  cases  reported.  The  fact  that 
so  many  physicians  and  nurses  were  absent  from  the  state 
on  account  of  war  work  made  it  more  difficult  to  combat  the 
disease.  However,  the  state  board  of  health  is  undertaking 
a  campaign  which  will  undoubtedly  build  up  a  strong  and 
capable  organization  all  over  the  state  for  the  curbing  of  the 
plague  if  it  become  recurrent. 

The  death  rate  was  higher  in  Waterbury  than  in  any 
other  town,  being  7.5  per  thousand.  New  Britain  came 
next  with  6.4  and  Hartford  had  4.2.  Willimantic's  rate 
was  not  figured  out  as  this  report  goes  to  press,  but  the  town 
was  sorely  hit.  New  Haven,  Bridgeport  and  many  of  the 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  25 

small  villages  where  manufacturing  industries  were  carried 
on  were  afflicted,  although  in  the  case  of  the  latter  it  might 
be  assumed  comparative  isolation  from  traffic  and  travel 
would  have  been  a  safeguard. 

One  of  the  cities  which  felt  the  force  of  the  disease  in  the 
beginning  was  New  London.  However,  at  no  time  was  its 
industries  so  crippled  that  they  had  to  cease  running.  The 
first  act  of  the  acting  mayor  and  the  health  physician  was  to 
order  closed  churches,  theatres,  schools,  halls,  all  gathering 
places  of  people,  a  measure  of  wisdom  when  one  remembers 
the  immense  floating  population  of  this  railroad,  naval  and 
army  base.  Hundreds  of  men  daily  cross  the  ferries,  hun- 
dreds come  from  the  naval  station,  the  state  pier,  the  sub- 
marine base,  and  from  the  island  and  mainland  forts.  The 
cases  and  losses  at  the  government  bases  were  cared  for  by 
its  own  physicians  who  largely  kept  their  own  counsel. 

The  story  of  the  work  done  by  one  great  manufactory  in 
the  city  of  Waterbury  is  here  given  because  Waterbury  was 
the  manufacturing  town  most  stricken  and  because  it  con- 
veys a  lesson  that  all  may  con.  Waterbury  is  a  hive  of 
metal  industries  in  addition  to  its  other  forms  of  occupation, 
and  has  plants  whose  business  success  is  unparalleled.  All 
of  these  have  emergency  and  rest  rooms  for  men  and  wom- 
en, and  more  than  half  have  graduate  nurses  and  regular 
physicians  in  attendance.  The  others  have  facilities  in  their 
emergency  rooms  for  treatment  of  about  everything  that  can 
happen  in  work  shops.  Where  a  physician  is  not  regularly 
in  the  establishment,  he  holds  clinics  on  certain  days  or  else 
has  the  hurt  and  ill  come  to  his  office. 

The  Scovill  Manufacturing  Co.,  averaging  about  14,000 
employees,  has  a  hospital  with  a  large  operating  room,  a 
waiting  room,  rest  rooms  for  men  and  women,  a  superin- 
tendent's office  and  clerical  aid.  The  staff  consists  of  two 
physicians  and  surgeons,  a  head  nurse  who  is  assisted  by 
three  women  nurses  and  two  orderlies  and  there  is  a  visiting 
nurse.  In  addition,  since  it  devoted  so  much  of  its  work  to 
munitions  for  the  United  States,  there  has  been  a  physician 
whose  whole  duty  consisted  in  observing  the  effect  of  oc- 
cupations on  the  individual  workers. 

It  has  made  a  policy  for  years  under  the  management  of 
Mr.  John  H.  Goss  of  exercising  a  strict  surveillance  over 
the  health  of  its  employees,  carrying  out  a  system  whose  in- 
ception and  success  were  largely  due  to  the  head  nurse,  Miss 
Nora  O'Brien.  Each  employee  is  physically  examined  with 
a  view  to  giving  him  or  her  a  line  of  work  to  which  he  or 
she  is  specially  fitted.  The  examination  is  not  for  the  pur- 


26  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

pose  of  grading  the  applicant  in  a  class  which  gives  him  a 
lower  wage  earning  capacity,  but  for  his  own  protection  and 
that  of  his  employer,  who  as  a  result  of  placing  him  where 
an  incipient  affection  will  not  be  developed  or  where  a  well 
developed  one  will  not  be  aggravated,  protects  his  health  and 
enables  him  to  earn  as  much  as  he  can.  He  frequently 
earns  as  much  and  sometimes  more  than  a  man  who  is  100% 
physically. 

The  advantage  does  not  end  here.  The  man  is  required 
to  report  at  regular  intervals  at  the  hospital,  where  he  is  ex- 
amined and  he  is  studied  and  cared  for  so  that  he  really 
has  for  nothing  the  benefit  of  treatment  he  probably  would 
never  have  been  able  to  afford.  Also  the  employer  derives 
benefit  by  lowering  his  labor  turnover,  getting  a  steadiness 
of  work  that  otherwise  would  be  lacking  and  having  the 
assurance  that  he  can  reasonably  figure  on  having  his  work 
done  at  a  certain  time.  In  addition  to  this  the  head  nurse 
and  her  assistants  have  the  help  so  impressed  with  the 
truth  that  prevention  is  nine-tenths,  that  as  soon  as  an  ac- 
cident, however  trivial  occurs,  the  injured  come  to  the  hos- 
pital for  treatment. 

This  apparent  digression  is  made  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing how  systematically  this  concern  takes  care  of  its  help 
and  how  well  equipped  it  was  to  do  the  work  which  it  did 
and  which  undoubtedly  was  the  means  of  saving  Waterbury 
from  a  terrible  calamity.  When  the  epidemic  swooped 
down  on  Waterbury  it  raged  from  end  to  end,  regardless  of 
race,  condition  or  residence.  The  factories  were  not  spared. 
Each  day  found  the  list  of  those  who  thought  they  could  fight 
off  the  incipient  illness  decreasing.  The  family  physician 
called  in  after  the  disease  had  frightened  the  sufferers 
found  himself  handicapped  at  the  beginning  by  lack  of  the 
usual  remedies,  notably  quinine.  In  many  cases  he  wa% 
afraid  the  weakened  heart  would  not  recover  from  adminis- 
tration of  the  usual  remedies.  Prohibitionists  will  prob- 
ably never  know  how  much  whiskey  was  used  there  and 
all  over  the  state,  and  at  army  and  navy  bases.  Remember, 
the  work  was  not  now  to  care  for  the  factory's  afflicted  but 
for  the  sick  of  the  whole  city.  The  resources  of  the  Scovill 
plant  being  exhausted,  outside  accommodations  were  se- 
cured and  the  city  opened  two  places  as  hospitals  and  the 
Country  Club  of  Waterbury  gave  its  spacious  home  for  the 
use  of  the  convalescents.  The  young  men  who  had  volun- 
teered at  the  call  to  act  as  grave  diggers  did  not  stop  at  this 
service,  they  went  right  into  the  places  where  the  sick  were 
treated  and  into  homes.  All  kinds  of  services  they  gladly  ac- 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  27 

cepted,  they  washed  floors  and  they  washed  faces,  they 
washed  dishes  and  they  washed  babies'  diapers,  they  even 
fed  the  little  ones  from  nursing  bottles  with  tenderness  and 
skill.  They  helped  save  thousands  of  lives. 

While  the  city  was  frantic  with  fear,  there  stepped  into 
the  breach  a  woman  other  than  the  factory  force,  taking 
charge  of  the  isolation  hospital  opened  on  October  5th.  She 
knew  more  about  the  city,  its  needs,  its  lacks,  its  equipment 
than  any  other  person.  For  years  she  had  been  fighting  the 
tuberculosis  plague  fearlessly  and  well.  Of  an  intensely 
patriotic  race,  Mary  Gormly  had  volunteered  to  go  to  France 
and  was  ready  for  the  journey  when  the  call  came  nearer 
home.  Almost  single-handed  she  fought  for  the  cause, 
sparing  not  herself,  neither  sleeping  nor  eating,  until  over- 
wrought nature  gave  way  and  she  fell  a  victim  as  truly  a 
martyr  to  duty  as  any  vaunted  heroine  of  history,  for  she 
gave  her  life  with  all  that  life  had  for  others  and  what  more 
can  man  or  woman  do? 

One  after  another,  Chase  Park  House,  Temple  Hall,  the 
Country  Club,  the  Day  Nursery,  the  Elks'  Home,  and  other 
places  were  turned  over  to  the  work.  Now  began  the  bat- 
tle in  earnest,  the  city  under  its  Mayor  and  Board  of  Health 
and  all  the  volunteer  associations,  the  associated  factories, 
The  International  Silver  Co.,  The  Lynch  Realty  Co.,  The 
Farrel  Foundry,  The  American  Brass  Co.,  The  Chase  Co., 
and  others  of  smaller  extent.  Boston  sent  nurses.  The 
Rotary  Club  made  a  canvass.  The  Scovill  Manufactory  by 
general  consent  took  command  of  the  battle,  its  head  nurse 
aided  by  the  physician  who  was  studying  conditions,  with 
the  help  of  the  regular  force  of  the  factory. 

Finding  volunteers  from  outside  were  impossible  to  obtain 
in  time,  the  head  nurse  went  into  the  munition  shops  and 
called  on  the  women  there  for  aid,  asking  that  those  who  had 
any  hospital  training,  those  who  had  cared  for  the  sick  out- 
side their  own  homes,  those  who  had  cared  for  the  sick  in 
their  homes  and  those  who  were  ignorant  of  such  work,  but 
willing  to  aid,  step  forth.  Out  of  the  eager  volunteers  forty 
women  were  selected  and  divided  into  classes,  graded  ac- 
cording to  the  call,  and  these  women  did  valiant  service. 
Other  factories  took  similar  action. 

In  going  through  the  city  to  the  homes  of  those  who  were 
ill,  the  factory  workers  necessarily  met  with  cases  of  illness 
other  than  their  own  people.  No  one  was  caring  for  them. 
Tenements  were  entered  where  a  dozen  persons  were  sick 
in  four  or  five  rooms  which  had  neither  heat,  light  nor  toilet 
facilities.  Some  homes  had  an  abundance  of  food  but  no 


28  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

one  to  cook  it  or  care  for  the  sick.  Others  were  shockingly 
bare.  In  some  places  the  sinks  were  choked  with  filth,  the 
toilets  were  broken  and  unsafe  and  in  others  they  were 
locked  up.  In  some  places  father  and  mother  lay  dead  and 
children  were  starving.  As  the  workers  went  along  women 
would  cry  out  from  windows  begging  for  help  and  food. 
For  several  weeks  the  factory  furnished  food  and  blankets 
and  other  necessities  to  258  families,  and  when  the  writer 
visited  Waterbury  on  November  4th,  1918,  it  was  still  em- 
ploying a  force  to  attend  to  these  matters  and  sending  out 
blankets  for  the  children  who  were  out  at  the  Country  Club 
recovering.  It  also  had  its  force  of  nurses  doing  outside 
work. 

A  pitiful,  yet  a  heart  and  mind  opening  scene  was  that 
presented  at  the  Country  Club ;  the  glass  enclosed  verandas 
were  filled  with  cots,  all  occupied  by  children,  every  bit  of 
space  was  utilized  to  shelter  some  sufferer  drawn  back  from 
facing  the  long  journey;  all  through  the  big  rooms,  glowing 
with  soft  light  and  caressing  their  worn  bodies  with  grate- 
ful heat,  were  scattered  men  and  women,  babies  and  older 
children;  some  in  groups,  laughing  and  rejoicing  in  re- 
covery, others  wanly  smiling,  unable  to  laugh  for  they  were 
thinking  of  their  dead.  One  woman  sat,  saying  nothing, 
but  tightly  clasping  with  long  skeleton-like  fingers  a  wee 
pale  baby  while  her  eyes  never  left  its  face ;  even  though  she 
knew  death  was  driven  away,  she  feared  to  relax  her  vigil. 
Another  was  seated  at  the  piano,  playing  with  the  touch 
and  enjoyment  of  the  born  musician  and  around  her  a  rapt 
circle  fascinated  by  the  old  fashioned  melodies. 

Up  and  down  the  long  rooms  were  racing  six  children, 
the  oldest  perhaps  ten,  and  the  youngest,  whose  chubby  little 
legs  ambitiously  sought  to  hold  up  his  body,  might  have  been 
as  many  months.  He  howled  in  sheer  joy  as-  he  thought  he 
was  chasing  his  brothers.  A  bright  young  nurse,  one  of 
the  imported  from  Boston,  captured  the  ringleader  and  the 
musician  stopped  and  soon  had  the  entire  brood  encircled. 
They  were  all  hers.  Yes,  indeed,  she  had  been  sick  and 
everyone  of  them,  but  praise  be  to  God,  and  to  the  kind 
people,  they  were  getting  well.  Oh,  you  should  see  them 
eat.  Dear,  dear,  but  when  we  were  leaving  the  house  I 
thought  I  saw  death  grinning  over  my  shoulder.  She 
stopped  and  looked  at  them  as  they  watched  us  with  atten- 
tive eyes.  She  choked  up,  "I'd  die  for  any  one  of  them 
and  to  think  that  God  left  them  all  to  me  while  so  many  poor 
women  have  their  hearts  struck."  "Do  you  work  at  Scovill's, 
or  does  your  husband  work  there?"  "My  husband?  He's 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  29 

dead.  He  was  taken  from  me  when  she  was  born.  No,  I 
don't  work  there,  but  a  niece  of  his  does  and  they  heard  I 
was  smitten  with  all  the  children.  They  took  care  of  me. 
Oh,  many's  the  mother  that  died  with  her  babe  and  many's 
the  home  that  is  broken  up." 

Seated  at  the  table  was  a  bright-looking  young  man,  one 
of  those  who  had  volunteered,  and  who  had  succumbed  to 
the  disease.  He  was  now  pretty  well  on  the  road  to  health. 
He  was  modest  about  telling  of  his  work  but  when  asked 
how  he  had  done  the  things  he  did,  said :  "Gee,  it  was  pretty 
tough,  some  of  it,  but  it  had  to  be  done  and  you  wouldn't 
want  to  ask  any  fellow  to  do  it,  so  you  had  to  do  it  yourself." 
Over  in  the  corner  sat  a  youngish  Italian  man.  His  labor- 
hardened  face  was  illumined  by  bright,  unusually  big  eyes 
which  were  constantly  fastening  on  the  door.  When  his 
gaze  was  intercepted  he  flashed  a  bright  grin  which  swiftly 
passed  into  the  same  intent  anxiety.  His  name  was  Pete, 
he  had  been  brought  there  from  a  wretchedly  poor  home 
wherein  his  wife  and  children  lay  dying.  His  was  an  extra 
hard  case  and  even  now  he  was  in  great  danger.  Day  after 
day  he  had  been  asking  nurses  and  doctors  for  news  from 
home  and  day  after  day  he  received  the  same  reply.  They 
were  all  well  and  soon  would  be  better.  "Why  no  come  see 
me?"  "Oh,  give  them  time,  Pete,  you  know  they've  been 
pretty  sick."  "Yes,  yes,  me  great  trouble.  Me  very  sorry. 
Hope  to  see  my  wife  soon,  then  I  walk  away  better."  "We'll 
have  to  tell  him,  poor  fellow,  but  it  is  a  tough  thing."  Wife 
and  children  were  dead. 

Scenes  as  bad  as  these  and  some  even  worse,  took  place 
in  other  cities.  Willimantic  had  cases  where  the  doctors 
had  to  rush  from  one  patient  to  another.  Hartford  had  a 
case  in  a  house  on  Capitol  Avenue  where  a  dozen  people 
were  all  ill  without  succor  and  the  conditions  were  deplor- 
able; in  one  city,  only  the  delay  in  getting  the  undertaker 
prevented  a  young  mother  from  being  buried  alive. 

The  moral  of  this  reference  to  the  epidemic  can  be  easily 
fastened  on  without  the  aid  of  hooks  and  eyes.  Only  the 
fact  that  the  war  was  ending  prevented  it  from  being  an 
international  calamity,  as  it  was.  It  meant  a  serious  loss  of 
lives  and  of  millions  of  dollars  in  production.  It  has  cost 
cities  much  money.  That  money  should  have  been  spent 
in  prevention.  That  such  a  menace  to  health  and  industry 
may  repeat  itself  is  probable.  That  preparation  should  be 
made  to  prevent  such  a  repetition  happening  is  an  impera- 
tive duty.  The  state,  and  every  city  and  town  in  the  state, 
should  set  to  work  at  once  systematically  and  intel- 


30  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

ligently  to  meet  such  an  emergency.  It  will  cost  money  but 
it  is  the  people's  money  and  it  should  be  used  to  protect  them 
rather  than  have  to  be  spent  in  fighting  the  disease  after  it 
has  attacked  them.  Boards  of  health  are  expensive  and  in- 
jurious adjuncts  unless  they  are  properly  supported,  for 
the  fact  that  a  city  or  town  has  a  board  seems  to  lull  the 
people  into  a  sense  that  it  is  the  board's  business  to  do  this 
or  that.  But  the  board  of  health  can  do  nothing  unless  it 
has  power  and  money.  It  is  unjust  and  picayune  to  crit- 
icise its  failures  if  those  be  due  to  a  niggardly  and  sus- 
picious policy  on  the  part  of  town  or  city  or  to  the  using  the 
board  as  a  part  of  a  political  machine.  It  deserves  criticism 
if  it  Becomes  a  political  machine  itself  and  should  be  prompt- 
ly put  out  of  business. 

A  rather  careful  survey  of  the  situation  created  by  the 
late  epidemic  justifies  the  conclusion  that  more  power  and 
means  should  be  given  to  every  board  of  health  in  the  state. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  31 


SAFETY  PRECAUTIONS. 

Safety  precautions  gained  more  attention  after  the  out- 
break of  the  war.  Munition  plants  and  factories  whose  out- 
put entailed  the  using  of  dangerous  or  health  affecting  acids 
and  combinations  were  subjected  to  more  rigid  inspection. 
Orders  were  given  by  both  the  Department  of  Labor  and 
the  Department  of  Factory  Inspection  requiring  that  chemi- 
cals, acids,  explosives  and  like  combinations  be  stored  out- 
side the  buildings  at  a  distance  sufficiently  remote  to  protect 
the  workers.  The  factory  inspectors  also  looked  diligently 
after  the  conditions  of  machines  and  were  particularly  in- 
sistent on  the  safeguarding  of  health  of  polishers,  grinders 
and  buffers.  Orders  were  uniformly  quickly  obeyed,  the 
manufacturers  being  most  anxious  to  have  safety  the  first 
consideration. 

Considering  the  crowding  of  more  machines  and  seats 
into  space  and  the  narrowing  of  many  passages  to  accom- 
modate the  increase  of  workers,  the  industrial  investigator 
insisted  in  all  factories  visited  on  having  clear  signs  or 
lights  directing  the  way  to  the  various  fire  escapes  so  that 
no  one,  however  inexperienced  or  obtuse  could  fail  to  under- 
stand their  purport,  through  means  of  the  red  letters  and 
red  color.  Many  girls  were  employed  who  wore  their  hair 
either  confined  with  a  bow  at  the  base  of  the  head,  hanging 
loosely,  or  in  braids.  They  were  ordered  to  have  it  done 
up  while  at  work,  both  because  of  the  possibility  of  danger 
when  near  machinery  and  also  because  in  such  places  as 
candy  factories  and  kitchens,  it  was  desirable  on  the  ground 
of  neatness. 

Since  women  have  gone  into  work,  in  brass  and  copper  in- 
dustries and  on  heavy  machine  work,  handling  oil  covered 
tubes,  cutting  and  bending  pipes,  standing  on  a  floor  that  is 
unavoidably  greasy  and  sand  covered,  it  was  thought  much 
better  for  the  safety  and  health  of  the  workers  that  they 
should  wear  a  large  apron  or  a  uniform  and  in  all  cases 
have  heavy  soled  shoes.  In  1915  the  investigator  suggested 
to  munition  workers,  notably  in  Bridgeport,  the  wearing  of 
thick  nets  which  should  confine  and  protect  the  hair.  Since 
that  date  the  work  of  women  in  munition  plants  was  ex- 
tended from  cartridge  making,  drilling,  milling,  filling, 
assembling  and  inspecting,  to  many  other  heavier  branches 


32  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

and  a  protective  garb  while  at  work  in  the  factory  became  a 
necessity  for  health  and  safety.  It  has  been  the  general 
custom  of  workers  to  change  their  dresses  to  older  ones; 
some  changed  their  shoes  but  the  majority  did  not.  A  few 
made  no  changes  whatever.  The  heavier  and  more  dirty 
work,  however,  required  a  different  style.  At  first  there 
was  considerable  opposition,  added  to  by  the  jests  of  men 
who  nearly  created  a  riot  when  the  overall  uniform  was 
adopted  in  a  Bridgeport  plant.  So  much  trouble  was  caused 
that  the  welfare  supervisor  wished  to  make  a  compromise 
on  a  large  apron  of  the  bungalow  style,  only  fitting  more 
closely,  something  after  the  sort  that  is  worn  in  laundries. 
However,  those  who  had  adopted  the  overalls  found  them  so 
handy  and  comfortable  that  they  won  out  in  the  end,  though 
they  never  attained  the  popularity  that  safety  and  con- 
venience warranted.  Had  the  war  continued  there  is  no 
question  but  that  their  use  would  have  become  general. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  still  many  places  where  women  have 
to  work  in  dust,  grease  and  steam,  and  where  the  wearing 
of  a  work  uniform  is  a  distinct  advantage,  saving  time, 
lessening  the  fatigue  caused  by  caring  for  ordinary  clothing, 
the  binding  of  which  prevents  ease  and  freedom  of  move- 
ment, and  what  is  of  some  importance  to  the  manufacturer, 
adds  to  efficiency  and  production. 

In  the  French,  British  and  German  factories  the  garb  was 
used  from  the  early  days  of  the  war  and  was  of  much  aid 
to  quick  and  efficient  production.  The  women  were  actually 
obliged  to  wear  a  work  garment  adapted  to  the  particular 
work  in  which  they  were  engaged.  In  chemical  works  the 
uniform  was  fireproofed  and  goggles  were  worn  over  the 
eyes;  in  airplane  work,  especially  doping,  sleeves  were 
tightened;  fastened  at  wrist;  with  an  apron  over  the  uni- 
form ;  a  cap  was  also  worn.  In  metal  processes,  trousers  or 
knickers  with  a  tunic,  leggins  and  gloves  were  approved 
garb;  where  grinding  and  dust  were  to  be  feared, 
breathing  tubes  were  used.  The  material  of  the  garments 
was  either  heavy  or  medium  woolen,  heavy  or  thin  cotton, 
according  to  the  temperature  of  the  place  where  the  work 
was  to  be  done.  Gloves  had  been  used  in  munition  and  brass 
working  plants  before  the  more  general  use  in  Great  Britain, 
but  the  workers  have  never  been  partial  to  them,  as  they 
thought  they  could  not  work  as  quickly. 

It  is  a  fact  that  women  will  not  take  care  of  themselves 
as  well  as  men  in  the  matter  of  eating  regularly  and  partak- 
ing of  nourishing  food,  especially  where  they  are  on  piece 
work.  Unless  there  is  a  complete  cessation  of  power,  many 


WOMAN    OPERATING    A    DRILL    PRESS.      NOTE    THE    ROLLED-UP    SLEEVES,    THE    CAP 
AND    THE    LARGE    PROTECTIVE    APRON. 

Courtesy    of    Travelers   Insurance    Co. 


WOMAN    OPERATING    TAPPING    MACHINE.       NOTE    OVERALL    UNIFORM. 

Courtesy    of   Travelers    Insurance    Co. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  33 

of  them  will  hurry  through  their  lunch  and  return  to  the 
machines.  Where  they  are  assembling  or  inspecting,  they 
usually  cut  the  lunch  hour  when  the  work  is  paid  other 
than  by  daily  or  hourly  rate.  They  are  also  less  careful 
about  calling  attention  to  breaks,  defects  or  accidents  to 
their  machines.  Even  when  they  know  there  is  something 
wrong,  they  begrudge  the  time  required  to  have  it  adjusted 
and  keep  on  to  finish  up,  with  the  result  that  often  they 
cause  a  greater  injury  to  the  machine  and  occasionally  one 
to  themselves.  When  they  are  hurt,  if  it  be  a  trifling  injury 
in  their  opinion,  they  will  not  go  at  once  for  treatment  but 
try  to  manage  until  near  the  closing  hour.  In  one  factory 
there  were  several  women  who  had  lost  forefingers  and 
parts  of  their  thumbs  simply,  as  they  admitted  themselves, 
because  they  had  stuck  their  fingers  and  thumbs  in  to  help 
along.  The  latest  case  of  this  sort  was  on  March  6, 1917.  in 
Bridgeport,  when  the  management  of  the  factory  ordered 
that  type  of  machine  taken  out  and  today  it  is  impossible  for 
anyone  to  get  caught  no  matter  how  the  hands  and  fingers 
are  used. 

Today  there  is  not  a  factory  or  small  working  place  in  the 
state  which  the  factory  inspectors  have  not  equipped  with 
emergency  kits.  There  still  are,  however,  many  factories 
where  an  emergency  hospital  could  be  used  with  great  bene- 
fit. It  need  not  be  an  elaborate  affair  but  it  should  have 
the  means  of  attending  to  an  accident  until  trained  help  ar- 
rives. Every  factory  employing  help  should  have  more 
than  one  physician  in  the  neighborhood  ready  to  come  at 
short  call.  The  sight  of  a  man  pinned  by  a  giant  screw  pin 
tight  to  a  gauge  machine  with  his  fellow-workmen  power- 
less to  help  him  while  he  writhed  in  agony  waiting  for  a 
physician  and  ambulance  from  a  hospital  to  arrive  ought  to 
be  enough  to  compel  general  precaution  against  such  a  con- 
dition being  repeated. 

All  machines  requiring  guards  have  them  today.  There 
are  also  skirt  rails  placed  on  machines  where  women  are 
sewing. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  the  investigator  that  a  recom- 
mendation be  made  for  fire  drills  in  large  factories.  There 
is  a  minimum  of  danger  from  fire  in  every  large  factory. 
The  chances  of  a  fire  breaking  out  in  a  business  house  are 
much  greater.  Added  to  this  there  is  no  factory  which  has 
not  provision  for  fire  in  some  form  though  all  have  not  in 
as  great  degree  as  they  should.  Some  cling  to  the  antiquat- 
ed fire  buckets  filled  with  water.  These  receptacles  are 


34  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

generally  stowed  in  out  of  the  way  nooks  so  that  if  there 
was  a  sudden  demand  for  them,  it  would  waste  precious 
time  to  find  them.  The  investigator,  having  asked  about 
fire  precaution  in  one  concern,  was  an  interested  spectator 
of  the  attempt  of  the  foreman  to  locate  water  pails  which 
he  knew  existed  "somewhere"  in  the  factory.  Four  men 
were  sent  out  to  discover  their  location.  It  consumed  just 
thirty-three  minutes  to  exhume  the  pails  from  under  stair- 
ways, back  of  boxes  and  out  of  dark  corners.  If  this  "pro- 
tection" is  to  be  allowed  to  continue  every  entrance  should 
have  a  sign  in  red  letters  telling  where  the  water  pails  can 
be  found.  Many  printing  offices  and  tobacco  shops,  always 
rather  small  places  of  business,  have  very  inadequate  pro- 
tection, either  pails  or  extinguishers. 

Where  the  owners  and  managers  are  up  to  date,  the 
sprinkler  system  protects  even  moderately  sized  plants.  It 
is  an  investment  which  makes  a  good  return  in  the  increas- 
ing sense  of  safety  and  decreasing  danger  and  also  insurance 
rate.  Even  with  the  system  there  should  be  extinguishers. 
The  large  factories  have  hose  and  hydrants  and  fire  compan- 
ies. The  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Co.  of  New  Haven 
employed  experienced  men  under  the  direction  of  a  former 
fire  chief  for  years,  even  before  the  beginning  of  the  war 
work.  Where  there  are  neither  firemen,  hose  nor  sprinkler, 
there  should  be  fire  extinguishers  in  preference  to  the  anti- 
quated fire  pails.  The  former  are  readily  distinguished  and 
much  more  effective.  They  are  easy  to  find  as  they  have  to 
be  hung  up.  It  would  be  a  good  safety  measure  for  insurance 
companies  to  insist  that  the  extinguishers  take  the  place  of 
water  pails. 

It  was  stated  to  the  investigator  that  fire  drills  are  re- 
quired by  law  in  New  York  factories.  Connecticut  fac- 
tories are  given  the  benefit  of  the  suggestion.  The  objection 
which  is  most  tenable  against  their  institution  is  the  loss  of 
time  they  would  involve.  But  loss  of  time  and  production 
while  something  to  be  avoided  are  not  as  deplorable  as  loss 
of  life. 

For  the  calming  of  those  who  are  afraid  the  recommend- 
ation will  not  be  immediately  followed,  it  is  well  to  direct 
attention  to  the  fact  that  catastrophies  from  fires  are  ex- 
ceedingly small  in  the  manufacturing  concerns  of  the  state. 
An  easily  arranged  substitute  for  the  fire  drill  is  having  the 
workers  on  each  floor  made  familiar  with  the  fire  escapes 
and  the  ways  of  reaching  them.  This  is  already  under  way. 
An  excellent  help  in  every  department  or  room  would  be  a 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  35 

portable  extension  ladder  whereby  a  flame  high  up  could  be 
easily  reached. 

Far  more  needful  of  attention  than  the  regular  factory 
buildings,  are  numerous  structures  which  have  been  util- 
ized as  factories,  printing  offices  and  shops  by  small  con- 
cerns which  only  occupy  a  floor  or  two,  or  even  part  of  a 
floor.  These  places  house  from  nine  to  ten  hours  a  day 
thousands  of  men  and  women  who  are  almost  without  pro- 
tection. In  many  of  them  the  floors  are  old,  like  tinder,  satur- 
ated with  grease  and  roughened  with  splints  so  that  swift 
progress  over  them  means  hurting  the  feet.  The  stairways 
are  none  too  good,  the  lighting  has  to  be  fought  for,  the  fire 
escapes  are  in  obscure  corners  or  reached  through  devious 
pathways  leading  into  some  other  building.  Generally  the 
sprinkler  is  absent.  Many  of  these  buildings  belong  to 
estates  and  it  is  like  searching  for  a  needle  in  a  haystack  to 
find  the  owner  or  someone  who  will  acknowledge  the  re- 
sponsibility for  spending  money  for  improvements.  There 
are  more  of  these  places  than  one  would  fancy  are  compat- 
ible with  existing  insurance  laws  and  building  inspectors. 
It  would  not  take  an  X-Ray  to  discover  them  in  any  large 
city.  Added  to  this,  the  accommodations  for  the  help  in  the 
line  of  places  to  "wash  up"  are  usually  bad.  The  arrange- 
ments for  toilets  are  travesties.  They  are  a  constant  care 
and  exasperation  to  the  factory  and  other  inspectors.  To 
have  them  in  decent  condition  it  is  necessary  to  camp  there 
permanently  and  there  is  no  time  for  that  sort  of  thing. 
Orders  that  are  within  the  province  of  the  department  are 
given  and  are  carried  out  only  sufficiently  to  comply  with 
the  requirements  of  the  law.  In  a  short  time  the  work  has 
to  be  done  over  again. 

City  boards  of  health,  building  inspectors  and  insurance 
companies  should  all  unite  in  a  vigorous  campaign  against 
these  menaces  to  life  and  safety.  In  going  through  plants 
which  are  really  well  safeguarded,  the  investigator  noticed 
some  fire  hydrants  which  were  obstructed  by  trucks  or 
heavy  cases  and  some  elevators,  notably  for  freight,  where 
the  user  was  not  always  careful  to  have  them  well  protected. 
In  factories  where  the  covering  is  a  part  of  the  flooring, 
every  such  part  should  have  a  railing  about  it  or  be  indicat- 
ed by  a  white  danger  line. 

A  habit  which  prevailed  in  many  plants  is  for  the  worker, 
man  or  woman,  to  shade  the  electric  light  with  a  piece  of 
paper.  This  should  be  stopped.  The  light  should  be  prop- 
erly protected  so  that  it  will  not  dazzle  the  worker's  eyes 


36  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

or  fall  improperly  on  the  work.  The  use  of  the  paper  is 
dangerous  and  likely  to  cause  a  fire  which  might  be  hurtful 
to  the  worker,  though  it  could  not  spread  through  the  build- 
ing. On  a  par  with  this  is  the  custom  of  many  women  to 
wear  paper  confined  with  rubber  bands  about  their  wrists 
to  save  their  sleeves.  If  they  have  to  use  this  protection 
for  cleanliness,  it  should  be  fireproofed.  But  they  ought  to 
have  the  regular  overall  uniform. 

In  one  factory  in  the  state  where  men  are  exposed  to 
danger  in  boiler  rooms,  asbestos  suits  are  being  furnished 
for  their  use  while  working.  These  consist  of  trousers, 
coat,  hood  and  gloves.  It  is  hoped  other  firms  will  follow 
this  one's  example. 

Every  plant  has  a  foreman  or  foremen.  If  it  be  large  it 
has  a  number  in  each  department.  Besides  looking  after 
the  output,  it  would  be  an  easy  job  to  look  after  the  con- 
ditions of  the  room,  department  or  floor  every  day,  for  a 
daily  inspection  would  only  occupy  a  few  minutes.  By  this 
defective  lighting,  broken  places  in  floors  and  worn  treads 
of  stairways,  a  frequent  and  dangerous  condition,  could  be 
noted  and  remedied  without  compelling  a  factory  inspector 
to  go  through  the  routine  of  issuing  orders.  There  is  an 
abundance  of  work  for  the  inspectors  without  attending  to 
small  yet  most  important  details  which  can  be  readily  and 
quickly  cared  for  by  plant  foremen. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  37 


HOUSING  CONDITIONS 

When  the  abrupt  ending  of  the  war  in  Europe  thrilled  the 
hearts  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  with  joy  and 
thanksgiving,  the  hum  of  the  saw  and  the  stroke  of  the  ham- 
mer were  heard  in  many  industrial  centers  as  the  builders 
toiled  to  complete  housing  for  the  war  workers.  Peace 
ended  the  haste  in  some  places ;  in  others  it  stopped  oper- 
ations completely,  but  in  many  localities  though  building  is 
proceeding  more  leisurely,  it  is  still  going  on  and  will  be 
continued  and  increased  as  in  these  towns  there  is  to  be  no 
cessation  of  building  of  ships  and  other  needs  of  the  United 
States  even  on  a  peace  basis.  The  shipbuilding  industry 
throughout  Connecticut  will  expand  instead  of  contracting 
as  it  is  inevitable  that  this  country  will  extend  its  foreign 
trade. 

Congestion  of  factory  workers  will  be  relieved,  but  inas- 
much as  general  building  operations,  particularly  the  build- 
ing of  homes,  were  interrupted  by  the  request  of  the  govern- 
ment, there  is  certain  to  be  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
dwelling  houses  in  such  towns  as  Hartford  and  New  Haven, 
even  if  the  factory  workers  are  not  to  occupy  them.  Others 
than  they  have  been  cramped  for  room  and  many  large 
business  enterprises  which  deferred  their  extension  until 
after  the  war  will  start  building  as  soon  as  permitted  by 
release  of  material  and  workers. 

In  New  Haven,  Mayor  FitzGerald  in  January  1919,  rec- 
ognizing the  need  of  keeping  the  workers  busy,  authorized 
the  expenditure  of  $8,000,000  for  necessary  work  for  the 
city's  improvement. 

But  no  matter  what  building  activity  goes  on  in  the 
future,  there  will  be  no  great  industrial  housing  construc- 
tive building  as  in  1917  and  1918  with  which  the  record  of 
how  munition  and  other  labor  was  cared  for  is  concerned. 

The  state  of  affairs  was  serious  in  the  centers  of  work. 
Owners  of  old  buildings,  however  ramshackle,  took  no  pains 
to  renovate  or  improve  them  but  rented  them  at  prices  which 
were  out  of  all  proportion  to  former  rents  or  to  their  ac- 
commodations. In  some  places  tenants  who  had  lived  for 
ten,  fifteen  and  twenty  years  in  a  house  and  had  made  it  at- 
tractive and  homelike  were  warned  to  get  out  and  im- 
mediately the  rent  was  doubled  and  tripled  on  their  sue- 


38  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

cessor.  Localities  which  would  have  been  tabooed  by  re- 
spectable people  were  filled  with  strangers  who  knew  noth- 
ing of  neighborhood  ethics  and  were  glad  to  have  a  roof 
over  their  heads.  Workers  who  came  from  Kansas,  Cali- 
fornia and  Montana  often  had  to  enlist  the  services  of  police- 
men to  find  a  room  to  shelter  them  overnight,  and  if  they 
were  fortunate  enough  in  securing  one,  they  paid  enough 
for  it  to  hire  a  nice  little  flat  in  ante  bellum  days.  In  some 
cities  old  houses,  minus  electricity  and  modern  heating  ap- 
paratus rented  for  $125  a  month  and  the  owners  wanted 
more.  These  places,  however,  were  profit-makers  for  the 
tenant  who  had  in  one  specific  case  45  lodgers  paying  $1.25 
a  week,  giving  him  a  total  of  $225  a  month.  In  general, 
however,  the  advances  in  rents  were  not  extortionate,  when 
the  landlord's  side  was  presented  to  the  various  housing 
committees  appointed  to  consider  the  situation.  The  land- 
lord had  to  pay  more  taxes,  more  for  the  upkeep,  more  for 
material.  With  plumbers,  carpenters  and  painters  work- 
ing eight  hours  and  receiving  the  rates  that  they  did,  an 
advance  of  10%  or  15%  did  not  cover  the  landlord's  added 
expense.  While  in  the  case  of  the  tenant,  the  high  cost  of 
living  was  cited  and  brought  into  the  matter,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  high  cost  of  living  affected  the  land- 
lord also  as  did  the  increase  of  coal,  gas  and  electricity 
which  had  to  be  factors  in  houses  rented  furnished  or  un- 
furnished with  heat,  light,  etc. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New 
Haven,  informed  the  investigator  that  New  Haven  could 
not  be  said  to  suffer  from  congestion  in  the  sense  that  other 
cities  were  affected.  The  rents  in  New  Haven  did  not  ad- 
vance as  they  did  in  Waterbury  and  Bridgeport,  where  the 
raise  was  estimated  at  a  flat  60%,  but  it  did  advance  some. 
One  reason  for  the  rise  was  the  cessation  of  building.  An- 
other, of  course,  the  increase  of  the  cost  of  living.  In  New 
Haven  there  was  nothing  like  the  difficulty  in  getting  ac- 
commodation for  factory  workers  as  there  was  in  other 
towns.  A  large  concern  there  which  owned  many  houses 
even  sold  a  row  of  them  to  a  private  owner. 

Previous  to  the  entry  of  this  country  into  the  war  the 
munition  plants  in  Waterbury,  Bridgeport  and  New  Haven 
had  built  many  houses,  purchased  some  and  rented  others 
for  their  help.  Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  placed  on  the 
truth  that  the  plants  of  the  state  were  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duction of  war  goods,  some  of  them  since  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  in  1914  and  had  increased  their  help  and  accom- 
modations before  April,  1917,  so  that  there  was  not  so  much 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  39 

to  be  done  after  we  entered  the  war.  In  Bridgeport,  the 
Remington  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Co.  and  the  Reming- 
ton Armory  had  invested  in  1915  over  $2,000,000  in  hous- 
ing for  its  help.  This  is  given  in  detail  in  the  Industrial 
Report  of  1915-1916  and  need  not  be  repeated  here  save  to 
add  that  its  building  operations  did  not  cease  with  this  ex- 
penditure, and  that  it  had  dormitories  in  Bridgeport  and 
Stamford  for  its  women.  Added  to  this,  other  concerns 
built  houses.  All  these  houses  were  attractive,  well 
equipped  homes.  Further,  the  plans  for  increased  housing 
for  Bridgeport  workers  through  government  aid  are  too 
well  known  to  be  dwelt  upon. 

In  Waterbury  in  1915,  the  largest  employer  of  labor 
there,  the  Scovill  Mfg.  Co.,  had  purchased  large  tracts  of 
land  and  had  built  and  was  building  attractive  six-room 
houses,  thoroughly  modern  in  equipment,  which  it  sold  to 
its  workers  at  $3.000,  actually  less  than  the  cost  price.  At 
that  time  the  cost  of  labor  and  material  was  far  different. 
Since  then  the  company  had  about  150  brick  houses  built 
which  it  offered  to  sell  to  its  own  employees  at  $4,200  for  an 
inside  house  and  $4,700  for  an  end  house.  The  purchase 
price  was  applied  in  the  form  of  rent,  practically,  and  these 
houses  were  to  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  $30.  a  month  for 
the  inside  house  and  $32  for  the  outside  house.  Through 
its  employment  agency  in  1918,  it  listed  rooms,  tenements 
and  boarding  places  where  the  worker  from  out  of  town 
could  be  sent.  In  addition  to  this,  barracks  were  built  in 
healthy,  well  lighted  localities  for  men  workers  who  were 
given  a  lighted,  sanitary  room  for  50c.  a  week,  and  had  the 
privilege  of  cooking  their  own  meals  in  a  kitchen  remote 
from  the  sleeping  rooms. 

South  Manchester,  Bridgeport,  Bristol,  Waterbury  and 
later  than  these,  New  London,  all  gave  serious  consideration 
to  the  housing  of  workers.  The  first  four  had  the  houses 
in  occupation  and  have  been  building  more.  The  latter,  New 
London,  is  now  building,  but  unlike  the  others,  the  work  is 
being  done  with  the  co-operation  of  the  federal  and  muni- 
cipal governments. 

South  Manchester  through  the  Cheney  Bros.,  silk  manu- 
facturers, has  for  several  years  had  accomodations  for  its 
workers  and  during  the  past  year  extended  them  greatly. 
The  houses  are  substantially  built  and  well  planned. 
These  houses  are  representative  in  every  way. 

The  New  Departure  Co.,  Bristol,  and  the  growth  of  the 
housing  in  that  hustling  little  town,  are  examples  of  first 


40  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

class  providence  in  anticipating  and  filling  the  needs  of  the 
workers. 

But  it  is  not  really,  after  all,  what  has  been  done  sporadi- 
cally or  through  exigency  that  can  be  considered  the  real 
housing  problem  solution.  Housing  that  is  to  stay  for  steady 
industry  such  as  that  which  exists  in  the  cotton  and  woolen 
villages  of  northeastern  Connecticut  and  the  houses  of  the 
employees  of  such  large  concerns  as  the  Cheney  Brothers, 
the  Waterbury,  Bridgeport  and  Bristol  plants  is  not  all 
that  affects  the  workers.  This  housing  has  to  be  held  a 
permanent  feature  and  the  occupants  are  not  transients  but 
stable  workers.  Yet,  the  housing  question,  as  it  touches  on 
the  every  day  workers  in  all  phases  of  industrial  life,  is  the 
thing. 

There  will  always  be  a  class  that  has  to  earn  its  daily 
bread  and  house  its  family  under  the  rooftree  of  a  landlord 
as  there  will  always  be  the  landlord  to  furnish  the  rooftree. 
According  to  the  high  cost  of  living  which  is  to  continue  for 
some  years  more  there  will  be  increase  in  the  tenant  class, 
and  the  health,  comfort  and  general  welfare  of  that  class 
is  a  charge  on  the  community  in  which  it  lives. 

Man  is  entitled  to  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness, but  he  will  have  precious  little  chance  to  catch  that 
elusive  third  in  the  series  unless  he  has  some  help  while 
he  is  chasing  that  symbol  of  comfort,  three  dollars. 

In  this  era  when  we  are  gravely  and  effectively  concerned 
for  the  welfare  of  every  nationality  that  can  be  made  out 
of  a  combination  of  consonants,  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  charity,  or  rather,  justice,  should  have  some  concrete 
evidence  that  we  are  interested  in  giving  them  help. 

We  cannot  make  very  lofty  idealized  Americans  out  of 
people  we  allow  to  live  in  ill-kept,  ill-smelling,  ill-lighted, 
ill-ventilated  tenements,  lacking  bathrooms  and  having  apol- 
ogies for  closets  that  are  an  offense  to  the  senses.  When 
the  walls  are  covered  with  dirty,  greasy  wallpaper  which 
even  in  its  youth  would  have  given  indigestion  to  an  ostrich, 
the  ceilings  cracked,  the  floors  rough  and  split,  the  back 
stairs,  veranda  or  stoop  blocked  with  refuse  and  old  rags, 
the  hall  redolent  with  the  odors  of  relays  of  cooking,  the 
front  entrance  like  the  leaning  tower  of  Pisa;  the  boy  or 
girl  who  is  growing  into  maturity  under  these  surroundings 
will  have  uncommon  mental  and  spiritual  stamina  to  resist 
the  tendency  to  slovenliness  of  thought  and  action.  Youthful 
immorality  is  bred  in  these  congested  regions. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  41 

Added  to  this  when  the  head  of  the  family,  or  at  least, 
the  male  provider,  has  to  pay  a  rent  out  of  all  proportion  to 
the  value  he  receives,  the  home  conversation  and  atmosphere 
is  bound  to  be  anything  but  enlivening.  We  are  engaged 
in  many  good  crusades  against  the  employment  of  children 
in  occupations  hurtful  to  their  growth  or  morality,  but  we 
have  not  paid  much  attention  to  the  environment  of  the 
children  who  constitute  the  larger  number  of  the  children 
of  the  country  nor  shown  any  comprehension  of  the  fact  that 
on  the  impressionable  and  vividly  receptive  mind  of  the 
child  the  place  in  which  he  lives  has  a  wonderful  effect.  If 
there  be  inherent  a  strong  character  and  personal  ambition 
such  as  is  often  found  in  the  Jew,  Pole  and  Italian,  the  con- 
trast between  his  own  and  the  homes  of  other  children  whom 
he  meets  at  school  is  bound  to  make  him  determined  to  rise. 
And  he  does.  But  if  he  does  not  possess  that  trait  he  is 
bound  to  become  more  or  less  injured. 

Housing  conditions  have  not  been  considered  as  affecting 
the  children,  but  there  is  an  important  relation  between 
them.  The  development  of  physique  and  mind  should  pro- 
ceed with  some  coordination.  A  stunted  and  diseased  body 
is  rarely  the  tenement  of  a  great  soul,  unless  the  stunting 
is  the  result  of  accident.  A  fine  physical  development  means 
naturally  a  vigor  of  body  that  assists  the  brain,  and  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  a  better  quality  of  mind,  although  history 
shows  some  of  the  greatest  minds  were  in  defective  bodies. 
But  the  majority  has  to  be  considered.  Physical,  moral, 
social  and  mental  development  should  proceed  together. 

The  housing  of  the  child  comes  to  be  an  important  ques- 
tion. Statistics  show  infant  mortality  which  could  have 
been  reduced  at  least  60%  through  air,  sunlight,  sanitation. 
This  is  a  serious  commercial  loss  to  every  community,  a  loss 
that  is  increased  by  remembering  that  adult  lives  have  been 
lost  and  vitality  and  usefulness  impaired  by  the  war.  There- 
fore, in  building  houses  the  fact  that  they  should  shelter  the 
potential  human  forces  of  the  state  and  country,  that  they 
should  be  the  health  protecting  homes  for  the  children  of  the 
state,  ought  to  have  paramount  consideration. 

It  is  true,  we  need  to  house  adults.  That  has  been  the 
prime  thought  in  all  discussions.  But  we  have  also  to 
think  of  the  growing  children  who  are  to  take  their  places 
and  see  provisions  are  made  so  that  all  families,  whatever 
the  color  of  the  nationality,  should  have  in  the  words  of  the 
greatest  American  citizen  of  this  century,  "A  square  deal." 
Thousands  of  children  in  the  state  of  Connecticut  are  born 
and  live  in  stuffy,  small  rooms,  minus  sufficient  light  and 


42  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

sunshine  and  without  proper  sanitary  conditions.  Were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that  they  escape  for  several  hours  daily  when 
they  are  old  enough  to  go  to  school,  to  the  warmth,  light  and 
better  conditions  of  the  latter  there  would  be  a  larger  death 
rate.  And  in  passing,  it  may  be  said  that  schools  can  be 
improved  also  with  regard  to  their  health  conditions. 

Anyone  who  is  interested  or  who  doubts  the  statement  of 
existing  conditions  in  tenement  houses  where  are  born  and 
live  or  die  as  circumstances  decree,  thousands  of  children, 
and  whence  come  sometimes  the  leaders  of  the  nation,  has 
only  to  walk  through  the  poorer  quarters  of  any  city  and 
see  people  living  in  houses  where  a  scientific  breeder  of  pigs 
would  not  allow  a  hog  to  remain.  Not  simply  to  meet  an 
exigency,  but  to  comply  with  an  imperative  demand  should 
there  be  inspection,  improvement  and  securing  of  good  con- 
ditions in  the  older  houses  and  the  construction  of  the  newer 
to  furnish  them. 

Many  plans  of  housing  have  been  presented  by  experts 
for  building  of  homes  for  workingmen  and  their  families. 
Some  of  them  are  exceptionally  good  and  some  are  like  other 
plans  proposed  by  experts  and  theorists,  uncommonly  fine 
on  paper  and  absolutely  no  good  in  fact.  Some  of  these 
plans  arrange  for  houses  of  four  rooms  in  some  cases  and 
five  in  others  saying  the  restriction  of  rooms  was  to  prevent 
the  family  having  lodgers,  and  to  keep  the  family  really 
a  family.  There  is  much  truth  in  that  statement  and  much 
to  commend  it,  but  a  four  room  house  having  a  kitchen,  a 
combination  living  room  and  dining  room  and  two  bed 
rooms  is  not  sufficient  to  accommodate  a  growing  family 
and  simply  means  the  needs  of  the  family  will  be  met  by 
utilizing  both  kitchen  and  living-dining  room  for  bedrooms 
with  the  use  of  the  unsanitary  couch  which  is  quickly  con- 
verted from  a  bed  to  an  ornamental  article  of  furniture  and 
whose  bedding  receives  no  airing  or  sunshine. 

Eixe  rooms  are  the  least  that  any  family  can  get  along 
with  sanitarily  after  it  comes  to  be  a  family  of  more  than 
two.  The  recent  epidemic  where  whole  families  were  lying 
ill  without  space  for  isolation,  where  sick  and  well  slept  to- 
gether and  where  when  nurses  were  brought  in,  their  first 
task  was  to  devise  some  means  of  preventing  the  practice, 
afforded  an  object  lesson  which  ought  not  to  be  forgotten. 
Another  consideration  to  be  held  in  view  is  that  unless  these 
houses  are  built  for  the  migratory  class  of  workmen,  they 
will  soon  cease  to  be  sufficient  accommodation,  for  families 
cannot  be  restrained  in  size  even  if  a  building  is,  and  as  soon 
as  he  is  uncomfortable  the  workingman  will  move  away. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  43 

Compressed  quarters  are  an  incitement  to  a  change  rather 
than  to  a  steady  occupation,  and  as  a  matter  of  business,  the 
employer  who  is  putting  up  such  for  permanent  use  should 
think  of  the  labor  turnover  he  is  thus  encouraging.  Build- 
ers of  houses  for  speculation  cannot  afford  to  sponsor  such 
huts.  The  workingman  resents  having  his  limitations  as  to 
expenditure  for  rent  advertised  and  he  resents  living-  in 
such  small  quarters. 

A  conclusive  demonstration  of  this  was  shown  in  a  cer- 
tain section  of  the  state  where  a  manufacturer,  ten  or 
twelve  years  ago,  put  up  numerous  houses  of  this  sort  for 
occupancy  by  his  help.  He  finally  sold  them  in  a  job  lot 
before  all  the  doors  had  fallen  off  and  while  the  window 
frames  were  still  left. 

The  group  house  has  been  favored  largely  and  has  the 
advantage  of  saving  space  but  the  group  house  is  open  to 
the  objection  that  only  the  ends  have  full  circulation  of  air. 
The  detached  house  is  the  best  type  in  every  way.  It  af- 
fords a  little  space  about  it  wherein  the  inmates  can  stretch 
their  arms  and  legs,  have  a  little  garden  and  expand  their 
muscles  and  gather  life  and  vigor  while  filling  their  lungs 
with  good,  free,  pure  air.  As  far  as  possible  the  building 
of  new  houses  for  industrial  use  or  for  rent  to  tenants  of 
any  occupation  should  plan  to  avoid  the  tiresome  sameness 
and  unhealthy  cramping. 

Children  were  never  made  to  be  placed  in  rows  like  nine- 
pins, and  as  they  constitute  the  real  wealth  of  the  state, 
they  should  be  permitted  a  fair  chance  to  expand. 

The  workingman's  family  of  the  $16.50  a  week  class,  or 
even  lower  wage,  naturally  has  to  consider  the  rent  in  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  of  the  monthly  wages  it  consumes. 
Therefore,  planning  for  such  a  family  means  getting  the 
most  possible  of  social  and  home  atmosphere  within  four 
walls  for  the  least  amount  of  money.  The  kitchen,  the  bed 
rooms  and  the  bathroom  are  first  consideration.  The  kitch- 
en, because  in  a  tenement  or  house  for  this  money-grade 
worker,  cooking,  working,  washing,  sewing  and  mending 
are  all  done  by  the  mother  in  this  room.  Where  the  mother 
stays,  the  entire  family  hover  about.  It  is  the  sitting  room 
and  often  the  reception  room.  This,  however,  should  be 
guarded  against.  The  man  may  be  willing  to  smoke  his 
pipe  with  his  friend  while  his  wife  entertains  the  other 
man's  wife  in  the  parlor,  but  nine  workingmen  out  of  ten 
are  as  keen  as  their  wives  for  the  dignity  and  consequence 
attained  by  having  a  "best  room."  They  are  going  down 
the  grade  when  they  forget  this.  The  wife  may  be  willing 


44  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

to  use  the  dining  room-parlor  combination,  but  if  she  had 
to  give  up  the  parlor  idea,  she  would  rather  eat  in  the  kitch- 
en despite  the  fact  that  she  knows  she  can  not  eat  as 
heartily  because  "she  is  filled  with  the  smell  of  the  cooking." 
Eating  in  the  kitchen  is  not  confined  nowadays  to  the  $16.50 
a  week  class.  It  is  followed  by  many  people  who  have  to 
do  their  own  work,  whatever  the  size  of  their  income. 
-HThe  living  room  or  parlor  is  a  desirable  adjunct  for  the 
young  people,  who  are  thus  within  the  home  rather  than 
wandering  about  in  dark  streets,  and  are  within  the  reach 
of  their  parents,  though  not  with  them,  j 

The  living  room  is  often  an  aid  as  well  to  social  better- 
ment and  ambitions. 

The  bathroom  as  a  name  covers  more  plumbing  and  land- 
lord sins  than  the  biggest  mantle  that  Charity  ever  spread. 
In  apartment  houses  where  $48  and  $50  a  month  are  charged 
for  five  rooms  it  frequently  has  ventilation  only  by  an  air 
shaft  through  which  floats  down  or  wells  up  the  conversa- 
tion, criticism  and  innermost  secrets  of  the  other  denizens, 
it  has  thus  served  to  create  feuds  compared  to  which  the 
Montague-Capulet  affair  was  a  mere  fracas.  The  shaft  also 
serves  to  poison  the  air.  In  some  places  there  is  no  pre- 
tence of  ventilation,  the  "bathroom"  being  an  afterthought 
embodied  in  putting  up  a  partition  and  cutting  down  the 
cubic  space  of  the  kitchen  or  a  bed  room.  Often  the  kitchen 
serves  as  an  aisle  of  approach  through  which  all  the  family 
promenades  to  the  goal.  It  is  distinctly  bad  to  have  this 
room  connected  directly  with  the  kitchen  and  bed  room. 
Bathrooms  should  be  reached  through  a  separate  passage, 
communicating  with  the  different  rooms,  thus  insuring 
privacy  and  sanitation. 

Men  who  hire  houses  pay  the  rent.  They  are  entitled  to 
some  decent  place.  Good  housing  built  simply  for  specula- 
tion has  proved  a  good  investment  wherever  tried  out,  as 
reported  by  the  City  and  Suburban  Homes  company  of  New 
York  which  is  giving  a  5%  dividend  annually  to  its  stock- 
holders on  the  $6,000,000,  it  has  invested  in  houses,  be- 
sides paying  good  salaries  to  all  its  employees  and  keeping 
up  a  high  standard  of  the  houses. 

When  a  corporation  builds  houses  that  are  attractive 
and  home-like  and  do  not  advertise  the  occupation  of  the 
owner,  these  are  the  ones  that  are  sought.  Where  the  cor- 
poration, whether  manufactory  or  real  estate,  makes  it  pos- 
ible  for  the  dwellers  to  buy  these  houses  on  the  monthly  in- 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  45 

stallment  plan  and  restricts  the  neighborhood  to  a  certain 
grade  of  improvement  and  morality,  there  is  the  advantage 
of  establishing  homes  and  stability,  insuring  a  livable  resi- 
dential neighborhood  and  increasing  the  attractions  of  the 
city  as  a  home  place  for  people  who  may  be  desirous  of  new 
business  locations. 


46  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


WELFARE  WORK. 

Welfare  work  and  betterment  of  conditions  all  over  the 
United  States  as  well  as  in  the  state  of  Connecticut  began 
to  take  form  between  1900  and  1918,  when  its  activity  has 
been  much  exploited.  At  the  start  it  was  urged  by  labor 
unions  and  sympathetic  bodies. 

Since  it  had  headway,  the  Factory  Department  and  the 
Labor  Bureau  have  been  hammering  away  every  year  seeing 
it  was  kept  up  and  extended.  Its  first  showing  was  made 
in  employers  associations,  either  death  or  sick  benefit,  or 
both,  as  exemplified  in  such  union  work  as  the  Brotherhood 
of  Trainmen  and  Locomotive  Engineers  associations  and 
other  railway  organizations,  carpenters'  unions,  etc.,  then 
the  forming  of  benefit  associations  in  factories  and  busi- 
ness places  either  wholly  of  employees  or  with  employer 
and  employee  working  together.  Tuberculosis  associations, 
firms  paying  for  sick  employees  at  sanitariums,  pension 
systems,  bonus,  reduction  of  working  hours,  increase  of 
pay,  group  insurance,  compensation  law,  employment  of 
nurses  and  doctors,  rest,  lunch  and  reading  rooms,  athletic 
associations,  picnics,  club  rooms,  etc.,  are  all  forms  of  wel- 
fare work. 

Welfare  work  in  all  countries  has  received  a  great  impetus 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war  as  it  became  plain  that  plant 
efficiency  and  production  were  largely  increased  by  the  com- 
fort and  content  of  the  worker.  In  some  countries  where 
whole  families  were  engaged  in  gainful  occupation,  where 
people  of  leisure  were  unable  to  procure  domestics  and 
were  too  helpless  to  do  the  work  themselves,  or  where  it  was 
thought  economy  of  food,  fuel  and  time  might  be  .achieved 
there  was  starting  of  community  kitchens. 

Like  the  majority  of  these  schemes,  it  was  practically 
made  in  Germany  and  put  into  practice  in  Sweden,  Norway 
and  Denmark  in  1916-1917,  and  in  England  in  1917,  where 
communal  kitchens  were  held  with  considerable  success, 
there  being  about  500  in  operation  by  the  middle  of  1918. 
One  element  of  their  popularity  in  England  and  Germany 
is  that  in  pre-war  times,  even  the  poorer  classes,  the  vast 
numbers  herding  in  lodgings,  and  the  medium  middle  class 
were  in  the  habit  of  patronizing  pastry  shops  and  having 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  47 

dinners  brought  into  their  abiding  places,  excellently  cooked 
and  at  reasonable  price. 

For  people  who  were  tired  or  'had  not  the  means  of  cook- 
ing or  who  did  not  care  to  buy  a  variety  of  articles,  it  was 
a  good  plan.  Where  the  government  paid  part  of  the  support 
of  the  communal  kitchens  high  grade  chefs  and  good  mate- 
rial were  the  rule.  In  the  war  time,  to  the  poor,  the  busy 
munition  workers,  the  middle  class  and  the  rich  who  wanted 
to  save  trouble,  the  communal  kitchen  afforded  a  solution  of 
the  feeding  problem  reasonably  satisfactory. 

That  this,  like  other  old  world  customs,  would  ever  have 
become  popular  except  in  the  sections  of  populous  cities  al- 
ready familiar  with  the  soup  kitchen  idea  is  a  question. 
There  is  something  about  the  communal  feeding  plan  which 
savors  of  disfavor  in  the  mind  of  the  independent  American 
citizen.  In  the  first  place  he  is  essentially  a  believer  in 
home  cooking,  and  second;  the  idea  implies  a  vague  public 
philanhropy  and  he  is  too  spirited  to  stand  in  line  and  sit 
around  a  board  to  receive  his  dinner  in  a  basket,  forwarded 
to  him,  as  it  suggests  the  method  used  in  feeding  animals 
in  a  zoo,  and  outrages  his  sense  of  personal  sovereignty.  It 
may  do  in  Germany  and  other  places  where  they  do  not  care 
as  long  as  they  receive  the  food. 

Every  individual  plant  of  any  magnitude  has  dining 
rooms  for  men  and  women,  and  often  separate  ones  for  the 
foremen  and  the  clerks.  These  rooms  have  tables  and  many 
of  them  are  fitted  up  with  conveniences  for  reading.  Meals 
are  served  at  cost,  excellently  cooked  by  men  or  women, 
the  majority  of  whom  are  hired  by  the  company,  and  a  few 
of  whom  have  paid  for  the  privilege  of  catering.  The  em- 
ployees have  the  choice  of  several  courses,  there  is  an  abun- 
dance of  food,  and  where  there  are  plants  which  do  not 
serve  the  food  they  have  coffee,  cocoa  and  milk  for  their 
workers.  These  are  the  small  places  where  the  greater 
part  of  the  men  and  women  live  close  by.  After  eating, 
the  men  sit  around  the  tables  playing  cards,  reading  papers, 
smoking  or  talking.  These  men  would  not  be  patrons  of 
a  community  kitchen  for  several  reasons.  When  the  meas- 
ure was  described  as  a  war  expedient  affording  relief  and 
saving  time,  it  impresed  the  investigator  as  having  desirable 
features,  and  being  worth  while  ascertaining  the  opinion 
of  some  of  the  people  in  the  production  centers  who  were  the 
ones  who  might  reasonably  be  supposed  to  profit  by  its 
existence. 

The  first  one  interviewed  was  a  Polish  woman  of  51, 
married,  husband  living  and  working,  mother  of  two  sons 


48  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

working  in  New  Haven,  one  son  in  the  army,  four  daugh- 
ters, one  of  whom  is  an  experienced  stenographer  receiving 
$80  a  month ;  one  a  teacher  of  physical  culture  in  California, 
and  the  older  two  who  have  not  been  able  to  have  any  edu- 
cational advantages  and  who  married  young,  have  hus- 
bands and  children  and  were  working  in  the  factories  since 
the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Of  the  two  sons  at  home,  one  was 
a  molder  averaging  $45  a  week ;  the  other  a  machinist,  not 
an  expert,  making  with  bonus  and  overtime  an  average 
of  $38  a  week.  Both  were  married  and  lived  in  flats  for 
which  they  paid  $35  a  month,  furnishing  their  own  light. 
One  had  two  boys,  neither  of  whom  was  at  work  like  his 
father;  and  the  other  had  three  girls  who  were  to  be 
"brought  up  fine."  The  point  on  which  all  were  unanimous 
was  that  education  was  the  greatest  good. 

This  family  may  be  readily  taken  as  a  representative 
type  of  the  decent,  ambitious  worker.  The  mother  was 
making  cartridges  and  stopped  reflectively  as  the  question : 
"I  can't  say  I'd  want  it.  No".  With  decision,  "I  would  not. 
I  bring  my  lunch  and  get  warm  coffee  or  cocoa  here,  but 
if  I  did  not,  I  would  not  like  to  go  there  if  we  had  one".  "I 
wonder  if  you  would  mind  telling  me  why  you  would  not 
like  it?"  "Why  not  is  hard  to  say  at  once,  but  I  know  at 
once  what  I  do  not  like.  I  would  not  like  to  go  where  there 
are  many  people  waiting  to  get  food.  I  would  not  like  to  go 
unless  I  was  neat  and  was  satisfied  with  myself.  I  would 
not  like  to  have  anybody  tell  me  what  I  must  eat  and  to 
have  it  planned  for  me.  I  think  today  while  I  am  working 
what  I  will  have  for  my  husband  tomorrow.  I  will  plan  so 
that  we  have  a  nice,  warm  breakfast,  a  good  lunch,  and  at 
night  a  fine  dinner.  There  will  always  be  something  to  eat 
if  we  want  it,  and  there  will  be  something  for  my  friends 
and  children,  and  my  grandchildren  if  they  want  it.  If  I 
have  a  weakness  in  my  stomach,  I  can  take  a  bite  of  food 
maybe.  I  think  we  have  all  been  not  at  all  stuffed  with 
food  this  year." 

"But  you  could  get  your  noonday  lunch— 

"I  cook  and  bring  it  here  and  it  does  not  cost  me  as  it  is 
part  of  what  I  have  for  my  breakfast  and  what  I  am  going 
to  have  for  my  dinner..  Besides  when  I  was  a  little  girl  a 
bad  time  fell  on  my  town.  We  had  to  go  and  have  soup 
and  bread  given  to  all  in  our  town.  We  felt  much  ashamed. 
I  would  not  like  to  go  anywhere  to  have  food  given  to  me." 

Another  woman  who  had  been  listening  interrupted  ab- 
ruptly "I  like  to  have  time  when  I  am  tired,  but  it  does  not 


f  -I' 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  49 

hurt  me  to  cook.  I  want  what  I  like  to  eat.  I  have  been  too 
long  eating  what  someone  else  thinks  I  should  like  to  eat." 

A  young  married  woman  had  a  different  reason.  "I 
like  my  husband,  he  is  a  good  man,  he  makes  good  money, 
he  gives  it  all  to  me.  I  like  to  get  what  he  likes  and  to 
cook  it  for  him  and  to  see  him  and  my  children  laugh  be- 
cause they  are  happy  for  they  are  eating  good  food  with 
each  other.  Besides  if  my  children  are  hungry  I  have 
something  to  make  them  happy." 

Another,  a  married  woman  said,  "Children  eat  and  then 
they  stop.  Pretty  soon  they  want  to  eat  some  more.  What 
then?" 

"Suppose  I  went  to  one  of  those",  said  a  bright  faced  in- 
spector in  Bridgeport,  "I  would  not  go  unless  I  changed  my 
shoes  and  combed  my  hair  and  freshened  up.  And  I 
wouldn't  like  it  unless  all  my  own  bunch  were  with  me. 
Not  for  me." 

"I  don't  have  to  have  anything  of  that.  I  have  a  decent 
home  and  wife."  said  a  man  shortly. 

"I  guess  it  would  be  all  right  for  anyone  that  liked  it." 
sad  a  young  unmarried  man  politely,  "but  it  wouldn't  touch 
the  spot  with  me." 

"Oh,  boy,  not  for  me",  said  a  man  in  the  biggest  concern 
in  Shelton,  "When  we  have  our  eats,  we  sit  around  and 
play  cards  and  have  a  good  time." 

"I  like  kiddos  around  me,  and  the  smell  of  cooking",  said 
a  man  of  35. 

Of  50  young  women  rooming  and  boarding  15  said  they 
would  go  once  anyway.  The  others  wouldn't  think  of  it. 

One  of  the  best  methods  of  conserving  and  protecting 
the  health  of  women  workers  is  the  welfare  supervisor.  It 
is  not  only  necessary  to  look  after  the  health  of  the  women 
workers  but  also  of  that  of  the  men  workers.  Hitherto  it 
has  been  held  that  only  a  certain  class  of  workers  required 
such  aid  but  where  there  has  been  a  general  supervisor  in- 
trusted with  the  care  of  all,  there  has  been  a  gratifying* 
improvement  and  lessening  of  sickness  and  labor  turnover. 
Welfare  workers  were  factors  in  large  Connecticut  concerns 
six  years  ago.  In  1914  the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms 
Co.  of  New  Haven  had  an  admirable  system  fully  developed 
under  Mr.  L.  0.  Pethick,  who  was  assisted  by  a  corps  of 
women  workers  who  took  care  of  various  branches,  both  of 
indoors  and  shop  work  and  outside  recreation  and  looking 
after  the  housing  conditions.  The  Sargent  Company  of 
New  Haven,  the  Scovill  Mfg.  Co.  of  Waterbury,  the  Reming- 
ton Arms  of  Bridgeport,  the  Hartford  Rubber  Works 


50  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

through  the  nurse,  the  Underwood  Typewriter  Co.,  the 
Wiley-Sweet  Co.  of  Hartford,  are  taken  as  examples  of  what 
has  been  done  by  many  other  plants  in  this  work  and  which 
has  resulted  in  100%  benefit. 

Six  factories  in  the  state  in  1917  had  a  force  of  registered 
physicians  employed  exclusively  by  them.  A  number  had 
hospitals  whose  fittings  were  not  surpassed,  and  some  not 
equaled  by  those  of  model  public  hospitals.  One  hospital 
has  three  physicians,  two  orderlies  and  three  registered 
nurses  with  a  clerical  force  doing  work  in  connection  with 
the  hospital  records.  Sixty  factories  in  the  state  employ 
nurses,  and  there  is  no  concern  even  with  less  than  three 
employees  which  the  factory  inspectors  have  not  seen  to  it 
possessed  and  used  emergency  kits.  Rest  rooms,  lunch 
rooms,  libraries  are  coming  to  be  more  general.  When  a 
regular  hospital  is  not  warranted  by  the  size  of  the  plant, 
a  room  is  fitted  up  with  a  couch,  hospital  appliances  and  the 
means  of  taking  care  of  the  sick  or  wounded  until  a  phy- 
sician comes.  Added  to  their  other  equipment  for  the 
care  of  their  workers,  five  firms  had  a  bathroom  with 
appliances  strictly  up  to  date  for  their  use.  These  firms  are 
situated  in  Bridgeport,  Norwalk,  Shelton,  South  Manchester 
and  Stafford  Springs. 

Even  before  the  United  States  went  into  the  war,  the  wel- 
fare work  that  was  being  done  in  Great  Britain,  France, 
Germany  and  England  engaged  much  attention  here.  The 
British  Minister  of  Munitions'  pamphlet  on  the  details  and 
systematic  work  being  done  for  the  men  and  women  in 
the  war  plants  was  naturally  studied  more  than  the  pub- 
lications of  other  nations,  French  information  on  the  sub- 
ject being  scant  as  the  French  government's  policy  was  to 
do  the  work  with  as  little  publicity  as  possible.  About  the 
first  step  in  England  was  the  appointment  of  women  wel- 
fare supervisors  of  whose  duties,  requirements  and  re- 
lative position  to  other  employees  and  the  management  an 
exhaustive  detail  was  published,  completely  covering  their 
operations  until  1917. 

•  At  the  National  Conference  of  Employment  Managers 
held  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.  in  May,  1918,  Dr.  Kristine  Mann  of 
the  Women's  Division,  United  States  Ordnance,  outlined 
a  plan  for  women  supervisors  which  so  exactly  carried  out 
the  ideas  put  into  practice  in  England  that  her  summary 
may  be  quoted  to  give  an  epitome  of  the  latter : 

"The  woman  supervisor  should  be  able  to  advise  mana- 
gers in  rest  rooms  or  canteens  of  the  physical  condition  of  in- 
dividual girls  not  as  respects  disease  but  as  to  probable 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  51 

individual  power  and  efficiency;  should  be  able  by  keeping 
closely  in  touch  with  the  worker  to  observe  individual  signs 
of  fatigue  and  to  suggest  conserving  power  by  maintaining 
good  posture.  She  should  be  able  to  advise  the  normal  girl 
on  diet,  exercise,  recreation,  supplementing  the  work  of  the 
doctor,  she  should  be  in  close  touch  with  the  employment 
manager  advising  him  in  the  placing  of  girls  according  to 
their  physical  capability.  On  the  other  hand,  she  must 
know  something  of  factory  problems  from  the  employer  in 
order  that  closer  co-operation  may  be  affected." 

Somewhat  nearer  to  Rochester  than  Great  Britain  these 
suggested  reforms,  as  far  as  their  practical  part  is  con- 
cerned, were  in  full  operation  in  many  war  plants  in  Con- 
necticut, and  as  this  state  furnished  more  than  half  of  the 
munitions  and  other  materials  of  war,  some  of  its  demon- 
strated methods  might  well  have  been  described  for  com- 
mendation or  criticism.  It  is  only  fair  to  assume  that  the 
result  of  experienced  work  is  as  good  a  criterion  as  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  mental  factories  who  guaranteed  to  turn  out 
employment  agents  and  welfare  workers  at  the  rate  of  hun- 
dreds after  a  course  of  six  weeks  or  six  months,  assuring 
the  employers  that  these  graduates  would  be  fully  capable 
of  taking  an  intimate  and  responsibla  position  in  manufac- 
tories which  it  had  taken  years  of  infinite  care  and  business 
experience  to  bring  to  success. 

In  Bridgeport,  New  Haven,  Waterbury,  Hartford,  South 
Manchester,  New  London,  South  Norwalk,  and  in  lesser 
degree  in  other  industrial  sections  there  has  been  develop- 
ment of  welfare  work  for  both  men  and  women  for  several 
years.  In  1915,  the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  of  New 
Haven,  the  Remington  Arms  of  Bridgeport,  the  Cheney 
Bros,  of  South  Manchester,  the  Brainerd  &  Armstrong  Co. 
of  New  London,  the  Scovill  Mfg.  Co.  of  Waterbury,  had 
been  for  some  time  seriously  concerned  in  the  comfort  and 
health  of  their  workers.  The  Underwood  Company  in  Hart- 
ford was  already  in  the  work.  Other  concerns  of  more 
modest  dimensions  all  over  the  state  had  many  of  its  fea- 
tures. 

As  said  in  a  previous  report,  Connecticut  has  an  admir- 
able record  in  caring  for  its  workers. 

War  plants  are  naturally  objects  of  more  interest  from 
the  social  welfare  view,  as  they  were  the  ones  which  were 
the  most  crowded  and  the  most  likely  to  relax  welfare  work 
during  the  great  demand  for  production.  In  Bridgeport 
a  most  efficient  worker,  Miss  Williams,  looked  after  the 
Remington  Arms  employees.  The  latest  visit  of  the  inves- 


52  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

tigator  to  the  plant  in  the  end  of  March,  1918,  showed  ad- 
mirable results  from  her  careful  supervision.  She  person- 
ally followed  the  history,  life  needs  and  housing  of  every 
girl  under  her  care,  and  she  also  exercised  a  moral  super- 
vision over  the  conduct  of  the  men. 

In  New  Haven,  two  firms  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  the 
work  that  was  done,  one  because  it  did  not  have  as  extensive 
a  system,  and  the  other  because  it  may  be  given  as  an  ex- 
ample of  the  broadest  and  most  minute  attention  to  welfare 
work. 

The  first,  The  Sargent  Co.,  had  its  work  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Mrs.  Soby,  who  may  be  cited  as  an  example  of  the 
practical  matron  who  directs  welfare  work.  She  looks  af- 
ter the  moral  and  physical  welfare  of  the  men  and  women 
both,  seeing  they  are  sent  to  the  doctor  as  soon  as  in  her 
judgment  there  is  need  of  a  physician's  care  and  sees  that 
cleanliness  prevails  and  exercises  a  strict  outlook  over  all 
sanitary  conditions.  She  follows  the  women  and  girls  into 
their  outer  life  as  far  as  in  her  judgment  the  factory  has  a 
right  to  do,  and  personally  she  has  established  so  close  a 
sympathy  with  the  workers  that  they  voluntarily  come  to 
her  and  confide  in  her  all  troubles,  grievances,  and  such  sug- 
gestions as  they  feel  would  add  to  their  betterment.  Out- 
side of  the  shops  she  has  organized  many  of  these  girls  into 
clubs,  one  of  which  did  much  good  work  during  the  war. 
The  Red  Cross  classes  of  the  Sargent  Company  met  Tuesday 
and  Thursday  noon,  devoting  an  hour  to  making  bandages, 
knitting  and  all  the  other  work  that  helped  the  Red  Cross 
in  furnishing  aid  to  the  soldiers.  The  Sargent  Co.  under- 
took much  santary  addition  and  welfare  improvement  dur- 
ing the  year  1918. 

The  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Co.  welfare  work  has 
been  systematized  and  conducted  on  a  large  scale,  so  that 
it  can  be  regarded  as  the  model  plant  for  war  work  concerns. 
There  is  a  welfare  supervisor,  Mr.  L.  0.  Pethick,  who  has 
a  corps  of  competent  assistants.  The  state  of  experimental 
theory  was  long  passed  in  this  plant.  The  chief  of  the  Wom- 
an's Division  of  the  works,  Miss  Isbell,  is  assisted  by  a  num- 
ber of  capable  women  whom  the  general  supervisor  has  as- 
signed to  looking  after  different  parts  of  the  scheme,  such 
as  recreation,  gymnastics,  basketry,  and  many  forms  of  so- 
cial work.  There  is  a  large  class  room  where  instruction 
is  given  to  foreigners  in  English,  general  education  and 
technical  knowledge.  These  pupils  are  paid  while  being 
taught.  At  one  time  the  record  of  the  week  showed  an  en- 
rollment of  611  in  36  classes,  514  men  and  97  women.  The 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  53 

hospital  work  is  excellent.  There  are  rest  and  recreation 
rooms  with  piano,  victrola,  steamer  chairs  and  books.  In 
the  dining  room  appetizing  and  carefully  prepared  nutritive 
lunches  are  served  at  less-  than  cost.  The  morale  is  admir- 
ably guarded. 

In  Waterbury,  the  Scovill'Mfg.  Company  has  so  demon- 
strated the  advantage  of  care  for  its  employees  that  saying 
more  about  its  work  is  like  piling  Pelion  on  Ossa.  Apart 
from  that,  however,  it  has  a  right  to  mention  as  showing 
the  worth  of  a  well  organized  foremen's  club.  This  club 
issues  a  bulletin  monthly  which  is  a  valuable  aid  to  its  own 
and  to  other  concerns.  It  is  edited  and  filled  by  men  who 
are  employed  in  the  firm,  and  it  has  a  suggestion  column 
that  contains  practical  hints  for  improvement  in  the  plant. 
Those  ideas  can  be  used  by  other  men  just  as  well  as  by  the 
Scovill  Mfg.  Company  management.  The  seasoned  intel- 
ligence and  wisdom  of  years  of  experience  are  here  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  the  timidity  and  experience  of  the  young- 
ster just  given  authority.  The  managers  and  owners  have 
the  privilege  of  membership  but  are  not  endowed  with,  nor 
do  they  assume,  any  more  authority  than  any  other  mem- 
bers. The  matters  brought  before  the  club  are  freely  de- 
bated and  the  verdict  depends  upon  their  worth,  not  on  their 
source.  As  one  of  the  managers  said:  "If  I  have  what  I 
think  is  an  idea,  I  take  it  in  the  front  door,  and  if  it  comes 
out  the  back  door  just  as  it  went  in  or  clothed  with  thought 
and  suggestion,  I  know  it  is  an  idea,  but  if  it  dies  natural- 
ly inside  the  door,  I  know  I  was  only  flattering  myself."  The 
foremen's  association  is  a  benefit  one,  and  of  course  there 
is  a  general  benefit  association.  There  is  a  fine  club  room 
for  girls  and  recreation  is  well  provided. 

One  of  the  practical  deeds  of  the  company  was  the  pur- 
chase of  a  large  number  of  cattle  in  the  spring  of  1917  and 
the  planting  of  acres  of  corn  to  feed  them  during  the  winter 
of  1917-1918.  The  result  was  most  advantageous  and  jus- 
tified the  undertaking.  F.  W.  Ineson,  superintendent  of  the 
Yard-Maintenance,  reported  on  November  4th,  1918 :  "Of  67 
steer,  21  have  been  fattened,  2  have  been  butchered  for  use 
in  our  cafeteria  and  5  more  will  be  butchered  this  week. 
These  steer  when  dressed  weighed  approximately  600 
pounds  each.  We  have  just  purchased  10  nine  week  old  pigs 
to  take  care  of  the  garbage  collected  from  cafeterias  and  as 
the  amount  of  this  material  increases,  we  will  put  in  addi- 
tional pigs.  This  year  we  raised  three  acres  of  millet,  317 
bushels  of  rye,  2,000  ears  of  sweet  corn  and  650  bushels  of 
potatoes.  At  the  Wolcott  Fair  this  year  we  had  an  exhibition 


54  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

of  our  produce  and  received  first  prize  on  millet,  green  corn 
and  fat  cattle,  and  second  prize  on  potatoes."  All  this  tended 
to  insure  for  the  workers  guaranteed,  good  food  in  the  din- 
ing rooms.  Perhaps  that  is  why  the  countenances  of  the  men 
riding  in  the  interworks  jitney,  which  is  one  of  the  methods 
employed  to  quickly  convey  them  through  the  grounds,  wear 
such  a  happy  and  beaming  expression.  It  is  to  be  feared 
they  are  not  returning  from  a  meal  composed  of  a  half  a 
pound  of  spinach,  a  half  pound  of  cabbage,  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  carrots,  a  half  pound  of  grated  turnip  and  a  hand- 
ful of  cranberries  which  was  announced  by  a  food  expert  on 
November  16th,  1918  in  the  "New  York  Mail's"  column  of 
comment  to  be  ingredients  sufficient  for  the  proper  nourish- 
ment of  a  man  in  pursuit  of  life,  liberty  and  happiness. 

The  Underwood  Typewriter  Co.  of  Hartford  has  a  welfare 
system  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Hitchcock,  who  was  formerly 
with  the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Co.  This  embraces 
not  only  looking  after  the  health  and  morale  of  the  entire 
establishment,  but  also  educating  those  of  foreign  birth. 

The  Hartford  Rubber  Works  has  instituted  a  fine  system 
which  is  being  well  worked  out  by  Miss  Phelps,  the  head 
nurse,  who  looks  after  that  as  well  as  the  purely  nursing 
department. 

The  Wiley-Sweet  Co.  which  had  much  war  work  to  do  put 
in  a  welfare  woman  and  made  a  rest  room  and  other  im- 
provements. 

The  Colt  Patent  Fire  Arms  Mfg.  Co.  deserves  special  men- 
tion because  of  the  manner  in  which  Mrs.  Burgess,  its  wo- 
man superintendent,  brought  discipline,  harmony  and  effi- 
ciency out  of  a  chaotic  condition.  Confronted  suddenly 
with  enormous  war  orders  this  firm  raked  in  help  from  all 
sides,  making  a  polyglot  combination  affording  a  peculiarly 
hard  problem  for  solution.  Mrs.  Burgess*  first  step  was  to 
secure  absolute  cleanliness,  both  sanitary  and  personal,  and 
also  to  have  regard  for  moral  conditions.  A  woman  of 
over  seven  years'  experience  in  munition  work  in  Canada, 
she  had  definite  ideas  of  what  to  do  and  her  first  act  was 
installation  of  women  janitors,  paying  them  $15  a  week. 
The  result  was  gratifying.  Conditions  which  under  the 
work  of  men  would  have  been  virtually  impossible  of  change 
were  made  right  and  a  general  feeling  of  satisfaction  re- 
sulted. Girls  and  women  workers  were  given  to  understand 
they  could  come  to  her  with  complaints  and  be  sure  they 
would  be  protected  and  helped.  In  addition  she  daily  went 
over  the  works  and  saw  that  the  safety  conditions  were 
good  and  cautioned  the  women  and  men  workers  not  to  at- 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  55 

tempt  working  on  defective  machines  but  to  report  to  the 
proper  authorities. 

The  Brainerd  &  Armstrong  Co.  of  New  London  has  had 
a  woman  employment  manager  for  years,  Miss  Wright,  and 
has  found  her  work  exceedingly  satisfactory.  The  Stan- 
dard Brass  &  Copper  Co.  of  the  same  city  did  not  begin  to 
employ  women  on  its  work  until  early  in  the  fall  of  1918, 
and  when  it  did  had  a  combined  rest  and  emergency  room 
and  a  women  welfare  worker.  What  was  of  much  value 
to  the  women  was  the  action  of  the  manager  in  setting  an 
equitable  rate  of  pay  for  their  work. 

The  Cheney  Silk  Mills  of  South  Manchester,  the  largest 
silk  manufacturing  concern  in  the  world,  has  been  pioneer 
in  welfare  and  housing  work  for  years,  the  war  finding  this 
factory  in  no  need  of  improvement  in  this  respect.  It 
has  not  only  looked  after  the  comfort  of  help  but  also  after 
its  education  and  physical  culture  and  the  town  owes  to  it 
a  system  of  development  of  body  and  mind  which  makes  it 
unique  among  the  towns  of  Connecticut. 

There  are  several  hundred  other  concerns  which  have 
been  steadily  working  out  plans  and  have  provided  well  for 
their  help.  In  every  concern  the  benefit  associations  are  of 
much  worth.  They  contribute  ideas  and  give  practical  aid 
and  comfort  to  those  of  their  members  who  need  such. 
Many  factories  have  taken  special  care  of  their  tubercular 
workers  and  several  besides  their  regular  contributions  as- 
sume the  entire  expense  of  such  of  their  employees  as  are 
being  treated.  Many  have  added  club  rooms,  dining  rooms 
for  men  and  women,  rest  and  emergency  rooms,  billiard 
rooms,  reading  rooms,  libraries,  and  some,  swimming  pools. 
In  the  factories  having  dining  rooms  and  lunch  rooms,  food 
is  served  at  cost  when  the  whole  meal  is  served,  and  tea  and 
coffee,  cocoa  and  milk  are  given  at  cost  even  when  the  work- 
ers bring  their  own  solid  food. 

All  this  work  is  a  good  investment,  returning  more  than 
50%  dividend  in  decrease  of  sickness,  sullenness,  suspicion 
and  inebriety.  A  man  who  is  fed  with  wholesome  food, 
housed  comfortably,  given  the  opportunity  to  converse  with 
other  men, -the  chance  to  have  his  grievances  heard,  the  full 
sway  as  to  whether  he  belongs  to  a  union  or  remains  out, 
has  proof  that  his  employer  takes  a  personal  interest  in  his 
well  being,  is  a  man  whom  anarchy  and  drunkenness  cannot 
reach  save  in  rare  exceptions. 

The  last  years  of  the  war  were  productive  of  a  wonderful 
increase  in  the  bonus  system.  Bonuses  were  lavishly  be- 


56  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

stowed  for  either  weekly,  monthly  or  tri-monthly  periods. 
The  weekly  bonus  was  the  most  favored  by  the  employees. 
In  nearly  every  case  the  other  sort  was  cause  of  some  com- 
plication or  difficulty.  One  or  two  firms  refused  to  pay 
them  unless  the  provisions  were  literally  lived  up  to,  claim- 
ing the  fact  that  the  bonus  was  clearly  explained,  should 
have  been  sufficient  to  guide  the  employee  to  abide  by  its 
terms.  The  claim  was  also  made  that  a  bonus  was  not  part 
of  the  wages  but  a  decision  by  a  judge  in  New  York  state 
put  a  different  interpretation  on  the  matter.  One  large 
firm  in  particular  in  Hartford  which  put  a  rigid  construc- 
tion on  its  bonus  system  as  a  voluntary  offering  had  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  and  interruption  of  war  work  on  that  ac- 
count. The  method  which  has  proved  most  satisfactory 
in  the  opinion  of  the  employer  and  employee  is  the  method 
of  giving  the  latter  a  share  in  profits,  which  has  been  in 
operation  for  some  time  with  much  satisfaction  in  Hartford. 
The  cessation  of  war  means  the  end  of  all  the  extra  wel- 
fare work  made  necessary  by  the  employment  in  such  large 
numbers  of  women  who  were  to  work  not  only  in  the  day 
but  in  the  night.  But  it  should  not  mean  the  giving  up  of 
the  usual  regard  for  health  and  welfare,  and  it  is  hardly 
likely  that  it  will.  It  was  imperative  that  the  extra  thou- 
sands who  were  demanded  by  the  war  exigencies  should 
have  been  let  go  when  that  exigency  ceased  to  exist.  Manu- 
facturers dependent  on  the  government  contract  for  work 
for  their  employees  had  no  alternative  but  to  reduce  forces 
when  the  work  was  reduced.  But  in  many  cases  welfare 
workers  can  still  be  retained  if  some  other  work  is  added  to 
their  duties.  The  choice  of  a  welfare  worker  is  a  serious 
thing.  A  factory  made  up  of  so  many  different  types  of 
character  is  no  place  for  the  theorist  or  faddist.  A  large 
leaven  of  common  sense  is  the  first  ingredient  of  a  man  or 
woman  who  expects  to  succeed  in  this  line.  Above  all  there 
should  be  no  disposition  to  interfere  with  the  medical  part 
of  the  work  where  there  is  nurse  and  physician  in  atten- 
dance. The  welfare  and  medical  should  coordinate.  Sub- 
ordination of  one  to  the  other  creates  a  bad  feeling  which  is 
quickly  discovered  and  tends  to  demoralize  the  entire  plant. 
Several  cases  of  this  were  discovered  in  the  summer  of  1918 
where  welfare  workers  fresh  from  the  schools  where  they 
had  been  for  six  months,  or  perhaps  even  less,  acquiring 
knowledge,  actually  sought  to  impress  their  importance  and 
directions  on  nurses  who  had  been  doing  exceedingly  good 
work  for  years. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  57 

There  has  sprung  up  during  the  war  period  an  undue  de- 
sire for  "heads,"  "chiefs,"  "directors,"  "executives,"  this, 
that  and  the  other  and  a  rather  laughable  tendency  to  as- 
sistant," etc.  It  is  the  way  the  work  is  done  that  confers 
value  on  the  workers  rather  than  the  reverse.  The  more 
valuable  the  worker  the  less  time  he  spends  in  contemplat- 
ing his  title. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  continue  to  use  "welfare 
worker"  or  "matron"  or  "superintendent."  There  is -too 
much  supervision  and  not  enough  looking  into  and  after. 


58  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


WOMEN  IN  UNNECESSARY  AND  UNDESIRABLE 

WORK. 

Whatever  reasonable  excuse  of  patriotism  and  need  ex- 
isted for  women  in  night  work  in  the  period  between  1914 
and  1919,  there  is  none  to-day  when  the  return  of  thousands 
from  service  and  the  release  of  other  thousands  from  ei- 
traordinary  war  work  puts  into  the  field  of  day  labor  amp.e 
force  to  answer  all  its  demands. 

Employment  of  women  at  night  gained  gradual  favcr 
from  1914  to  the  end  of  1917,  and  the  months  of  1918  con.- 
prised  between  January  and  November,  saw  its  greatest 
growth  with  the  contemplation  of  making  it  a  still  more  im- 
portant factor.  Plans  were  underway  for  a  large  increase 
of  this  sort  of  labor  and  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Fac- 
tory Inspection  received  many  inquiries  from  manufacturers 
asking  for  rulings  on  the  matter.  These  inquiries  were 
made  under  the  impression  that  the  war  would  continue 
for  at  least  two  more  years  and  men  would  be  drawn  from 
industry  in  such  large  numbers  as  to  make  the  utilization  of 
women's  labor  at  night  an  absolute  need.  Yet,  even  then, 
there  was  perception  of  the  grave  danger  underlying  sich 
employment  and  certain  to  be  the  result.  France,  in  the 
hour  of  her  most  extreme  need  of  production,  had  become  so 
assured  of  the  evils  of  night  work  for  women  that  it  took 
measures  to  curtail  it  with  the  intent  of  speedy  abolishment. 

In  America,  the  loss  of  health,  the  danger  of  mental  and 
moral  degeneracy  for  coming  generations  have  been  in  the 
minds  of  thinking  people  for  several  years.  The  immedate 
immorality  which  has  been  the  first  thought  in  the  mnds 
of  some  did  not  so  greatly  disturb  those  actually  famliar 
with  the  situation  as  they  knew  it  was  grossly  exaggented, 
the  existence  of  one  or  two  cases  being  cited  as  procf  of 
general  moral  indifference  and  turpitude.  Moral  lapse;  oc- 
cur in  all  communities  or  collections  of  people,  even  Wiere 
they  are  supposed  to  be  bomb  proof  against  such  derelic- 
tions. The  factories  are  no  worse,  and  in  some  cases  ar3  far 
better.  The  centers  of  munition  work  naturally  drew  01  all 
grades  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  some  were  objectioiable. 
Flagrant  immorality  was  not  tolerated  in  any  concern  and 
on  complaint  to  any  of  the  state  employees,  whose  badness 
it  is  to  look  after  such  matters,  evidences  of  wrongdoing 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  59 

were  carefully  investigated  and  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  employers  who  at  once  took  summary  action.  This 
statement  does  not  bear  on  night  work  alone.  It  is  equally 
applicable  to  day  work. 

The  demand  for  workers  was  so  great  that  grades  which 
under  other  circumstances  would  not  have  been  considered 
because  of  lack  of  training,  were  admitted  during  the 
months  of  1918.  These  were  used  under  the  direction  of 
skilled  workers  or  were  easily  taught  to  do  the  less  impor- 
tant details.  As  far  as  possible  in  night  work  the  older  and 
more  experienced  employees  were  assigned. 

Contrary  to  general  belief  men  and  women  welcomed 
night  work  and  were  eager  for  it,  asking  for  transfer  from 
day  to  night  shifts,  and  making  complaints  when  others 
were  given  the  change.  A  considerable  number  of  men  and 
won.en  had  told  the  investigator  that  discrimination  was 
used  in  "favoring"  certain  others  by  giving  them  night 
wort.  In  truth,  during  the  period  before  the  armistice  in- 
stead of  wanting  shorter  hours,  women  workers  were  many 
of  them  highly  indignant  at  any  attempt  to  restrict  their 
labor,  not  so  much  for  patriotism,  frankly  making  no  pre- 
tence of  this,  but  stating  they  wanted  the  increased  wage. 
The  answers  which  these  workers,  both  day  and  night,  make 
to  what  they  quickly  distinguished  as  "all  right"  and  "fool" 
questions  show  a  markable  variance.  Many,  both  men  and 
women,  were  not  only  willing  to  work  nights  but  to  do  over- 
time both  day  and  night  and  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  It  is 
a  matter  of  record  that  United  States  officers  acting  as 
government  inspectors  in  many  plants  urged  the  owners  to 
go  ahead,  nolens  volens  and  work  overtime.  Manufacturers 
deluged  the  Department  of  Labor  with  inquiries  on  the  mat- 
ter and  even  sought  consent  at  Washington.  The  attitude  of 
the  State  Labor  Bureau  was  that  it  was  most  difficult  to  put 
up  bars  once  let  down,  and  laws  for  the  protection  of  work- 
ers should  be  enforced  even  when  some  of  them  were  willing 
to  break  them.  Especially  where  the  eight  hour  law  was 
standard  in  government  work  were  the  workers  keen  to  ob- 
tain night  employment.  Work  then  began  at  six  in  the  eve- 
ning and  ended  at  six  in  the  morning^  and  in  case  of  men 
sometimes  not  unti.  eight  in  the  morning.  Many  people 
think  that  there  is  rtstriction  of  the  hours  of  labor  of  men 
to  55.  There  is  not.  Only  where  a  factory  or  shop  establishes 
a  uniform  schedule  it  has  to  adjust  its  labor  to  furnish  em- 
ployment to  all  branches  during  that  schedule,  and  having 
one  for  one  set  of  worlers  and  another  for  a  second  would 
result  in  embarrassmen .  That  is  one  reason  why  there  was 


60  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

objection  to  employing  child  labor  during  the  brief  period  of 
the  protection  of  this  labor  under  the  eight  hour  a  day  limit. 

Having  three  shifts  of  workers  for  an  eight  or  six  hour 
limit  has  not  been  followed  in  night  work  save  in  a  few 
places.  In  some,  two  shifts  were  employed,  but  in  the 
majority  the  hours  were  six  to  six  or  from  seven  to  seven. 
Night  work  was  desired  because  the  pay  was  greater,  and 
with  overtime,  which  is  time  and  a  half,  or  in  some  cases 
double  time,  the  workers  made  from  $10  to  $15  a  week  more 
than  doing  corresponding  work  in  the  daytime. 

Night  work  of  a  certain  sort*  will  probably  continue  for 
some  time,  despite  any  endeavor  to  obtain  its  abolishment. 
This  is  the  sort  that  is  employed  in  public  utilities  such  as 
telephone  companies  whose  night  force  has  always  been 
largely  women.  That  these  concerns  now  either  tempo- 
rarily or  permanently — the  latter  doubtful — under  United 
States  jurisdiction  notwithstanding  the  assertions  of  United 
States  officials  at  Washington  that  night  work  for  women  is 
undesirable,  will  remain  exactly  as  they  have  been  on  the 
question  of  employment  of  women  at  night,  can  be  taken  for 
fact.  We  can  add  to  them  the  telegraph  and  railroad  oifices 
for  some  amount  of  night  work  for  women,  and  possibly 
the  postal  service. 

Students  of  fatigue  and  efficiency,  and  the  nervous,  physi- 
cal and  other  disorders  which  night  work  may  entail  or  de- 
velop from  incipiency  have  furnished  ample  information  on 
the  subject  and  there  is  no  need  of  taking  up  space  to  give 
it  minutely.  It  has  been  shown  that  night  workers  have  not 
the  resistance  to  disease,  have  not  the  same  power  and  ex- 
cellence of  work  production  as  day  workers,  and  continuous 
labor  of  this  sort  steadily  .undermines  the  nervous  system. 
The  night  workers,  did  not  labor  every  night  in  the  week. 
They  generally  started  work  Monday  evening;  in  excep- 
tional cases,  only,  on  Tuesday  evening,  and  gave  it  up  on 
Friday  night,  in  some  occupations;  on  Saturday  noon  in 
others,  thus  having  all  day  or  half  day  Saturday,  Sunday 
and  Monday  to  recuperate.  Maybe  the  rren  so  employed  it. 
The  married  women  took  it  to  clean  house,  do  cooking  and 
sewing  and  the  hundred  and  one  othe^  little  things  that 
make  up  a  housewife's  business.  If  tiey  had  any  leisure 
time  they  went  to  the  movies  or  elsewhere.  It  never  oc- 
curred to  them  to  spend  as  much  time  fa  sleep  as  they  would 
if  they  were  working  days.  All  night  workers  seem  to  con- 
sider that  they  should  devote  some  d  the  day  intervening 
between  the  periods  of  employment  to  keeping  awake  and 
doing. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  61 

The  effect  of  the  absence  from  the  home  of  mothers  and 
wives  is  deplorable.  Were  it  long  continued  and  were  it 
to  be  allowed  to  be  the  custom  it  would  be  the  destruction  of 
such  homes,  the  drifting  into  temptation  of  thousands  of 
children  and  a  serious  menace  to  the  state.  Night  work  is 
not  now  a  necessity.  Its  tolerance  in  public  utilities  is  a 
concession  to  the  fact  that  it  is  necessary  to  retain  old  and 
experienced  employees  and  would  also  be  a  direct  and  ir- 
remediable hardship  to  dismiss  them.  But  in  industrial  work 
there  is  too  great  an  abundance  of  labor  to  cut  its  chances 
of  employment  by  having  night  work  for  either  men  or 
women.  Labor  for  the  present  and  the  coming  year  should 
have  all  the  opportunity  for  employment  that  can  be  af- 
forded. And  that  opportunity  should  be  in  the  daytime. 

Women  have  been  employed  in  work  which  was  just  as 
deserving  of  condemnation  as  night  work  but  which  many 
of  them  preferred.  A  full  list  of  these  occupations  is  given 
in  the  report  of  the  Factory  Inspection  branch  of  this  de- 
partment. This  work  is  now  no  longer  necessary 
for  women  on  the  plea  that  men  could  not  be  obtained  to 
perform  it,  and  all  women  who  are  holding  the  positions 
•filled  by  men  formerly,  if  these  be  men  who  vacated  them  to 
do  service  for  the  country,  should  not  be  retained  if  it  keeps 
these  men  idle.  Office  work  of  all  kinds  has  been  done  by 
women  in  the  place  of  men  since  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  war.  Auto  business,  bank,  factory,  insu- 
race,  laundry,  shop,  store,  telegraph,  railroad  ticket  offices 
and  freight  stations,  information,  care  taking,  elevator 
operation  in  business  houses  and  office  buildings,  farm  work, 
tobacco  where  over  1500  women  and  girls  labored  the  past 
year,  these  are  not  all  the  occupations  in  which  they  figured. 
These  women  on  the  average  received  about  83%  of  what 
the  men  whom  they  succeeded  were  receiving  in  pay  and 
had  practically  the  same  hours.  In  banks  and  insurance 
these  were  eight  on  the  average.  In  the  other  work  eight 
and  longer.  The  laundries  paid  the  highest  wages  to  wom- 
en taking  the  places  of  men.  Connecticut  had  a  few  women 
acting  as  auto  drivers  and  state  policewomen  in  the  way 
of  camp  patrols  but  it  was  not  edified  by  the  sight  of  woment 
trolley  car  conducters  and  motormen,  telephone  linemen, 
traffic  policemen  and  other  avocations.  It  did  have  them 
as  gate-tenders,  about  a  dozen  of  whom  flourished  in  the 
state. 

None  of  these  latter  functions  are  desirable  for  women. 
The  women  police  who  patrolled  the  camp  vicinities  are  na- 
turally no  longer  to  be  considered,  but  there  is  still  question 


62  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

as  to  whether  or  not  women  should  be  a  factor  in  railroad 
work. 

From  a  study  of  their  success  in  this  and  their  attitude 
as  affecting  the  employment  of  men,  the  investigator  em- 
phatically says  no.  A  long,  unsatisfactory  correspondence 
was  held  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1918  with  the  United 
States  Railroad  Department  at  Washington,  the  United 
States  Labor  Department,  and  about  half  a  dozen  divisions 
of  the  latter  to  which  the  letters  from  the  State  Industrial 
Investigator  were  shunted  concerning  the  long  hours  and 
lack  of  sanitary  conditions  affecting  these  employees  of  the 
Federal  Government  who  were  working  11  and  14  hours  a 
day  replacing  old  men,  crippled  men  and  men  whose  mis- 
fortunes had  come  from  serving  the  railway.  Women  in 
railroad  work  have  no  place.  Not  that  they  cannot  perform 
some  part  of  it  as  well  as  men,  but  because  it  is  a  none  too 
desirable  occupation  for  men  and  because  the  presence  of 
every  woman  worker  in  this  line  means  the  displacement  of 
a  man  who  has  a  family  to  maintain.  It  would  inevitably 
lead  to  grave  results,  economically  considered,  in  lowering 
the  rate  of  wages  of  the  men.  A  letter  from  one  of  the  most 
important  branches  of  the  Federal  Department  of  this  De- 
partment, the  summer  of  1918  requested  help  in  getting  men 
and  women  for  certain  work  and  specified  the  wages  of  the 
women  which  were  to  be  exactly  half  that  of  the  men.  If 
women  are  going  to  do  men's  work,  they  should  receive 
precisely  the  same  wages.  There  never  existed  an  excuse  for 
women  in  the  operations  of  a  railroad  in  this  state,  such  as 
considered.  The  men  whom  they  replaced  were  not  men  who 
could  be  used  in  war  service.  They  were  aged  and  crippled 
and  the  weekly  wage  they  received  kept  them  from  being 
objects  of  charity.  That  young,  buxom  women  capable  of 
working  at  any  business  which  required  manual  strength 
should  put  these  men  out  of  honorably  earning  their  living 
was  near  a  crime. 

There  is  and  will  be  abundance  of  work  for  women.  In- 
stead of  having  a  long  and  enduring  slump  there  is  to  be 
activity  in  clothing  and  other  trades  in  getting  ready  for  the 
needs  of  our  export  trade,  in  taking  up  again  the  threads 
we  have  dropped. 

With  reference  to  farm  work:  Women  and  girls  have 
labored  in  tobacco  fields  and  warehouses  during  the  season 
for  years.  Women  as  planters,  ploughing,  furrowing* 
weeding,  doing  all  the  heavy  work  of  the  farm,  even  if 
aided  by  machinery,  might  be  endured  during  the  war  when 
women  showed  a  splendid  disregard  of  their  comfort  and 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  63 

convenience.  It  has  existed  to  some  extent  in  parts  of  the 
South  and  West,  but  it  is  not  exactly  a  desirable  or  elevating 
sight  in  times  of  peace  when  abundance  of  labor  to  do  the 
rough  work  on  farms  can  be  obtained.  The  majority  of  the 
women  so  working  were  Poles  and  Italians  except  the  volun- 
teer workers  who  were  college  and  high  school  girls  and 
women  of  leisure.  The  volunteer  class  can  obtain  enough 
work  about  its  own  homes  to  contribute  largely  to  the  family 
cuisine.  But  the  employment  of  women  as  paid  farm  labor- 
ers is  a  little  unnecessary  and  too  much  like  certain  habits 
of  the  Old  World.  Americans  do  not  have  to  emulate.  In 
time  of  necessity  our  women  will  do  anything,  but  this  sort 
of  labor  is  not  absolutely  necessary  at  all.  And  there  will  be 
absolutely  no  justification  for  the  economic  crime  of  displac- 
ing men  and  receiving  work  through  accepting  a  two-third 
or  a  one-half  rate  of  pay. 


64  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


PROPER  SCOPE  OF  AMERICANIZATION. 

Americanization  did  not  begin  with  the  outbreak  of  the 
late  war,  nor  were  educational  activities  in  the  cities  of  the 
state  blind  to  its  needs  in  the  previous  years.  It  began  when 
the  first  immigrant,  with  straining  eyes  and  steps  awkword 
from  "the  long  confinement  of  the  steerage  came  down  the 
gang  plank  from  oppression  and  starvation  into  the  prom- 
ised land  of  freedom  and  plenty.  From  all  lands,  all  climes, 
they  have  been  steadily  pouring  into  Connecticut;  grand- 
parents bent  beneath  heavy  loads,  fathers,  mothers,  chil- 
dren, dumb  as  animals,  hearts  filled  with  joy,  forgetting  the 
fatigues  of  the  journey,  buoyed  up  by  the  mysterious  elixir 
of  sense  of  liberty.  Some  of  these  newcomers  were  bound  to 
be  leaders  and  the  nation  so  generously  receiving  them  was 
the  debtor  instead  of  the  creditor ;  others  were  to  be  follow- 
ers ever.  All  were  to  pass  through  the  crucible  of  assimila- 
tion into  an  Americanism  none  the  less  vigorous  and  ef- 
fective because  of  the  alloy.  The  first  requisite  toward  the 
making  and  continuing  of  an  American  citizen  is  to  be 
firmly  convinced  that  this  goverment  developed  and  holds 
stability  and  confidence  because  the  people  believe  it  is  a 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people. 
Every  foreigner  should  have  it  properly  ground  into  his  in- 
telligence that  by  service,  conduct  and  residence  for  a  stated 
time  he  becomes  as  much  a  part  of  it  as  the  man  whose 
people  were  here  a  hundred  years  ago.  Priority  does  not 
count.  Intelligence,  patriotic  service  and  interest  do.  If  a 
man  comes  to  the  United  States  simply  because  he  can  earn 
a  better  living  than  in  Europe,  if  his  interest  in  this  country 
be  merely  a  pecuniary  one,  he  is  not  making  any  return  for 
the  protection,  liberty  and  wage  earning  opportunity  he 
receives.  There  are  many  such  foreigners  in  the  state  of 
Connecticut,  there  are  exactly  57  varieties  of  the  various 
stirpes  and  added  to  this  a  number  whom  the  manufacturers 
in  their  reports  classed  as  miscellaneous.  The  greater  part 
of  these  people  realize  the  value  of  the  exchange  they  have 
made.  They  can  come  and  go  wherever  the  please ;  they  can 
enter  and  leave  their  homes  whenever  they  desire  with  no 
dread  of  the  intrusion  of  officialdom ;  their  home  is  a  castle 
defended  by  the  laws  of  the  state ;  they  can  earn  as  much  in 
a  week  as  they  could  in  six  months  on  the  other  side  and 
with  far  less  labor;  no  official  can  push  open  the  door  and 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  65 

search  their  homes  unless  he  has  a  warrant,  and  club  them 
into  insensibility  if  they  resist;  they  do  not  have  to  slink 
out  of  the  way  of  petty  officials  representing  an  elaborate 
system  of  autocracy  or  bureaucracy. 

Connecticut  has  a  large  foreign  born  element.  In  making 
this  statement  it  must  be  distinctly  emphasized  that  a  defini- 
tion is  necessary  as  to  what  constitutes  an  element  to  be 
held  foreign.  Save  for  the  five  years  limit  set  for  naturali- 
zation, there  is  no  rigid  definition  as  to  what  legally  dif- 
ferentiates a  foreign  born  citizen  from  a  native  born  one. 
Socially,  his  habits  and  assocations  may  distinguish  him. 
We  shall  have  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  tenacious  old  fashioned 
idea  that  when  a  man  comes  from  Belgium,  Denmark, 
France,  Greece,  Holland,  Italy,  Norway,  Portugal,  Russia, 
Sweden,  Switzerland,  etc.,  he  is  a  foreigner  for  all  time 
whether  he  declares  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  the  first 
day  he  lands,  and  does  become  one  as,  soon  as  the  law  per- 
mits, or  whether  he  remains  aloof  and  takes  no  interest  in 
the  state.  Even  in  the  first  case,  by  some  inexplicable  pro- 
.cess  of  reasoning  he  has  been  held  a  foreigner  no  matter 
what  service  he  renders,  and  his  children  and  his  children's 
children  are  also  foreigners.  On  the  other  hand,  certain 
other  races  are  held  as  Americans  whether  they  have  really 
taken  out  papers  and  enriched  Uncle  Sam  by  $5  or  not. 
These  have  the  advantage  of  speaking  the  same  tongue  as 
those  who  have  preceded  them  by  one  or  more  generations. 
A  great  measure  in  making  bona  fide  American  citizens  out 
of  foreigners  is  to  hold  them  foreigners  until  they  become 
American  citizens.  When  that  becomes  a  fact,  make  them 
American  citizens  in  treatment  and  drop  all  slurring  titles 
and  call  them  what  they  are — American  citizens. 

The  foreigner  who  came  to  Connecticut  to  make  it  his 
permanent  home  has  been  a  good  addition  to  the  state.  Were 
it  not  for  his  labor  the  bridges,  roads  and  public  improve- 
ments would  still  be  lagging.  After  a  time  he  becomes 
aware  of  his  own  worth  to  the  state  and  when  he  has  taken 
out  his  first  papers  and  owns  property,  which  he  speedily 
does,  he  is  jealous  of  his  dignity  and  his  property  rights. 
He  has  never  been  able  to  explain  clearly  to  his  own  under- 
standing why  it  is  that  his  children  who  -are  quicker,  more 
retentive  and  more  eager  than  other  children  to  acquire 
education,  are  set  apart  in  a  way  from  their  fellow  school 
children  and  despite  the  fact  that  they  are  anxious  to  be 
Americans  and  have  become  American  through  their 
father's  act,  are  still  classified  as  foreigners.  This  sort  of 
thing  is  too  common  in  schools.  If  it  were  not  for  the 


66  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

overpowering  conviction  of  the  foreign  born  that  he  has 
gained  so  much  by  being  in  the  state  it  might  prove  serious. 
Even  the  children  of  the  men  who  are  not  citizens  are  po- 
tential Americans,  as  they  are  in  the  state  to  take  advantage 
of  its  school  systems,  to  do  part  of  its  industrial  and  other 
work  and  to  make  it  their  home. 

The  element  which  can  be  truly  called  foreign  is  that, 
whether  it  comes  from  English  or  non-English  speaking 
lands,  which  remains  in  the  state  and  shows  no  interest  in 
its  welfare  or  desire  to  participate  in  its  citizenry  by  taking 
out  papers.  For  assuredly  those  who  have  done  the  latter 
cannot  be  classed  as  a  foreign  element  as  they  have  already 
and  voluntarily  taken  the  first  step  toward  becoming  an 
ingredient  which  will  ultimately  and  profitably  be  merged 
in  making  a  desirable  whole.  Besides  the  men  there  are 
large  numbers  of  women  who  are  a  potent  force  as  workers 
and  as  molders  of  opinion  in  their  own  home  and  sphere. 
Very  few  of  these  men  and  women  are  vicious  and  undesir- 
able, even  of  those  who  came  here  before  the  Burnet  im- 
migration law,  and  their  is  not  one  of  them  that  is  not  filled 
with  a  great  and  enduring  love  for  the  land  of  their  birth  or 
of  their  ancestors.  This  does  not  in  anyway  militate  against 
their  becoming  the  finest  of  citizens  any  more  than  because 
a  man  loves  his  mother  he  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  undesir- 
able husband.  However  much  these  people  abhor  the  gov- 
ernment from  which  they  have  escaped,  they  have  a  strong 
affection  for  their  fatherland.  Any  endeavor  to  make  them 
forget  would  arouse  instant  and  enduring  resentment. 

But  they  make  the  distinction  between  their  past  and 
present  home  themselves.  Where  it  was  possible  for  many 
of  these  people  to  return  to  their  home  lands  when  the  war 
in  Europe  broke  out,  they  quickly  did  so  and  were  fighting 
in  the  ranks  of  their  own  country,  particularly  those  who 
were  called  by  military  service  laws.  But  many  who 
were  not  citizens  remained  here  and  showed  no  intention  of 
returning.  It  has  to  be  kept  constantly  in  mind  that 
they  came  here  to  make  a  home  in  a  free  land.  That  lays 
the  foundation  for  their  Americaism.  The  splendid  loyalty 
shown  by  American  citizens  of  foreign  birth  and  those  not 
citizens,  their  cheerful  obedience  to  the  selective  draft,  and 
the  enlistment  of  so  many  who  could  not  be  reached  by  the 
former,  are  conclusive  proofs  that  only  a  perfervid  calamity 
seeker  need  have  any  fears  as  to  their  present  or  future 
attitude. 

When  the  registration  was  going  on  in  Hartford  a  young 
alien  who  was  present  with  his  wife  and  four  children,  said 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  67 

in  answer  to  the  questionnaire  that  he  would  not  claim  ex- 
emption on  the  ground  of  his  wife  and  children  but  was  wil- 
ling to  leave  them  to  fight  for  the  country  which  was  so 
good  to  him.  His  wife  exclaimed,  "Yes,  he  go  fight.  Me, 
stay  home.  Me  work  and  take  care  of  children."  Another, 
a  Pole  with  six  children,  said,  "I  am  willing  to  go  fight.  This 
country  give  me  money  to  live  nice.  I  could  not  get  that  in- 
my  own."  Against  this,  one  man  said,  "I  fight  all  right  if 
I  have  to.  When  war  is  over,  I  go  back  to  my  mother  and 
father."  Registration  revealed  there  were  58,596  men  of 
foreign  birth  in  the  state,  between  21  and  31,  and  there  were 
in  the  selective  draft  27,543,  almost  50%  of  the  number. 
The  investigator  would  hesitate  to  say  that  50%  of  the 
foreign  born  are  men  of  working  age.  In  case  of  the  coun- 
tries which  have  been  foremost  in  contributing  to  immigra- 
tion, families  come  into  Connecticut  from  Italy  and  Poland 
having  in  their  train  four,  five  and  six  children  of  whom  at 
least  half  are  girls. 

Austrians,  Armenians,  Germans,  Greeks,  Hungarians, 
Jews,  Italians,  Lithuanians,  Poles,  Russians  and  Russian 
Jews  are  the  subjects  for  Americanization  work.  It  would 
be  unjust  to  class  as  illiterate  all  these  people  because  they 
cannot  speak  English,  any  more  than  if  one  of  us  was  grad- 
uated from  an  uncommonly  good  high  school  and  went  to 
Italy  and  not  being  able  to  speak  its  language  was  dubbed 
ignorant. 

In  those  countries  in  Europe  where  education  is  com- 
pulsory, the  people  grade  by  grade,  are  given  a  more  solid 
foundation  and  are  better  taught  than  we.  Furthermore 
in  the  process  of  teaching  the  foreign  residents  of  the  state, 
the  advantages  of  becoming  English  speaking  and  obedient 
to  the  laws,  it  would  be  highly  judicious  for  orators  to  be- 
come familiar  with  the  immigration  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

Two  strong  reasons  demand  attention  to  Americaniza- 
tion :  First,  it  will  make  the  alien  understand  that  it  is  for 
his  own  good  as  much  as  for  the  state's  that  he  become  an 
intelligent  and  interested  citizen;  second,  that  it  is  for  his 
own  pecuniary  advantage  that  he  understand  the  work  and 
the  directions  concerning  it,  as  it  will  give  him  greater  ef- 
ficiency, confidence,  speed  and  inevitably  result  in  higher 
wages,  better  place  and  permanency.  The  factory  mana- 
gers will  be  practically  unanimous  in  saying  that  they  count 
as  some  of  their  very  best  workers  foreign  born  men.  Dur- 
ing the  war  time  period  these  men  were  among  the  most 
enthusiastic  and  speedy  producers,  the  first  to  begin  work, 


68  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

the  last  to  leave  it  and  the  break  in  their  labor  was  notice- 
ably small.  There  are  two  or  three  foreign  nationalities 
who  are  the  best  sort  of  workers,  both  men  and  women, 
naturally  taking  to  machine  work,  apt  and  deft  and  having 
a  small  per  cent,  of  accident.  For  obvious  reasons  these 
nationalities  cannot  be  here  given.  That  they  would  be 
better  off  by  knowing  everything  that  pertains  to  their  work 
needs  no  arguing.  It  is  a  great  disadvantage  to  a  worker 
to  be  dependent  on  somebody's  good  will,  and  an  expense  to 
the  employer  to  have  a  third  person's  time  taken  up  by  in- 
terpreting. 

Whatever  other  methods  may  be  employed,  the  two  most 
effective  and  direct  to  reach  him  is  the  place  where  he  works 
and  the  public  school  system.  The  first  gains  him  through 
presence,  appeal  of  his  competitive  skill  and  .ambition  and 
desire  to  make  money.  The  second  secures  him  through 
his  ambition,  his  affection  and  his  pride ;  particularly  in  the 
shop,  if  he  sees  that  men  from  his  own  country,  province 
or  grade  of  work  are  attending  factory  classes  or  evening 
school  and  notices  that  they  have  been  encouraged  or  "fa- 
vored" as  he  probably  puts  it  in  his  mind  by  being  set  in- 
structing such  as  he,  receiving  better  jobs  and  more  pay. 

The  Italian,  but  more  eagerly,  the  Russian  Jew,  will  at 
once  start  on  the  same  road.  Other  nationalities  are  slower 
more  difficult  to  persuade.  Where  there  are  facory  schools 
much  improvement  has  been  seen  in  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  the  work  and  less  labor  turnover  just  as  soon  as  the  work- 
er sees  the  more  he  knows  the  more  money  he  makes.  E- 
vening  schools  in  factories  will  never  gain  the  attend- 
ance and  success  achieved  by  having  day  classes  run  on  time 
paid  for  by  the  factory  management.  The  men  and  women 
are  too  much  in  the  factory  in  the  day  to  be  willing  to  return 
in  the  night  unless  exceptionally  keen,  and  thus  if  a  small 
number  did  come,  many  would  be  deprived  of  the  chance  of 
the  day  schooling.  A  factory  evening  school  would  have  to 
have  other  attractions  than  the  school  work.  Entertainment 
would  have  to  be  a  feature  and  here  would  arise  the  danger 
of  some  just  paying  attention  to  that  form.  If  speakers 
were  to  be  introduced  and  this  would  be  a  valuable  feature 
of  the  work,  some  one  would  be  sure  to  remark  they  were 
working  for  some  sort  of  propaganda. 

The  safest  and  .most  speedy  result  plan  is  to  have  the 
school  in  the  day  time  conducted  by  someone  who  is  regu- 
larly an  employee  of  the  factory.  This  is  the  method  that  is 
followed  in  the  largest  plants  where  this  work  has  been 
going  on  previous  to  the  war.  Several  of  these  plants  have 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  69 

resumed  educational  work  and  were  delighted  to  find  they 
had  good  and  increasing  classes.  In  smaller,  if  there  is 
not  sufficient  occupation  for  the  man  who  is  to  take  care  of 
the  educational  and  explanatory  work  about  the  processes 
of  the  plant,  he  can  follow  some  other  form  of  usefulness 
for  the  factory  and  thus  reduce  expenses. 

The  manner  in  which  the  schools  in  the  Winchester  Re- 
peating Arms,  the  Pratt  &  Whitney  Co.,  the  Scovill  Mfg.  Co. 
have  been  run  embraces  getting  out  the  thinking  and  in- 
dividuality of  the  pupils.  It  is  surprising  to  find  that  these, 
some  of  whom  were  as  responsive  and  as  receptive  as  stone 
images  at  the  start,  became  interested  through  the  simplest 
form  of  appeal  to  the  eye  and  through  it  to  the  mind.  Black- 
board illustrations,  picking  out  simple  stories  of  nature, 
bringing  the  individual  to  the  blackboard  and  using  it  to  il- 
lustrate his  ideas  as  often  as  possible,  stereopticon  and 
moving  picture  entertainments  were  great  helps.  Not  only 
were  the  men  and  women  taught  facts  about  their  work  and 
instructed  how  to  speak  and  write  English  but  they  gathered 
an  amount  of  diversified  knowledge  that  would  be  hardly 
credited  were  it  not  demonstrated.  Women  in  the  factories 
where  they  worked  and  were  admitted  to  classes  were  not 
as  steady  and  progressive  pupils  as  the  men  but  they  made 
progress,  and  were  also  taught  basketry,  embroidery,  sew- 
ing, etc.  Pratt  &  Whitney  had  classes  of  young  men  in 
drafting  and  mechanical  drawing  and  the  New  London  Ship 
&  Engine  Co.  had  both  young  men  and  young  women  in 
such  classes,  the  latter  mostly  as  tracers. 

Whatever  the  outlay  in  dollars  and  cents  in  carrying  on 
educational  systems  for  foreign  born  in  factories,  it  returns 
more  than  75%  in  many  instances  and  100%  in  others  and 
is  about  the  best  sort  of  an  investment  for  stability,  pre- 
vention of  accidents  and  increase  of  production.  Circulars, 
printed  slips  and  literature  of  that  ephemeral  nature  are 
costly  wastes.  The  average  workman,  foreign  or  native 
born,  and  the  leisure  class  have  one  trait  in  common,  distaste 
of  this  form  of  approach.  Striking  posters  with  some 
object  in  view  attract  and  in  a  few  cases  hold  attention  for 
a  short  time.  When  used  care  should  be  taken  that  they  are 
literally  correct  else  they  only  serve  to  arouse  ridicule.  In 
any  case  it  is  doubtful  if  they  pay  back  the  money  invested. 
Picture  books,  pertinent  to  the  line  followed  and  stories  of 
noted  people  and  current  events  are  preferable. 

The  public  school  has  a  wider  range  than  the  factory  as 
it  can  gather  pupils  from  all  sides ;  the  evening  school  from 
all  occupations  and  trades,  thus  doing  a  work  both  day  and 


70  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

evening  through  the  children  who  come  in  the  daytime  and 
the  older  ones  in  the  evening.  The  foreign  born  mother  and 
father  of  mature  age  are  not  good  subjects  for  or  in 
great  need  of  Americanization.  Their  day  is  passing  and 
it  is  with  the  children  the  work  should  deal.  These  people, 
however,  show  great  interest  in  and  anxiety  for  their  chil- 
dren's education  and  are  intensely  proud  when  they  show 
advance.  A  case  may  be  cited  of  an  old  Italian  woman  in 
Wooster  Street,  New  Haven,  who  went  all  the  bitter  winter 
of  1917-1918  without  shoes  in  order  that  her  grandchildren 
might  go  to  school.  It  is  also  surprising  how  much  of 
English  some  of  these  people  master  through  the  sheer  force 
of  necessity. 

The  children  who  go  to  the  public  schols  act  as  mis- 
sionaries to  their  families.  They  take  pride  in  dis- 
playing their  knowledge  and  instructing  their  fathers  and 
mothers.  Compelled  by  law  to  attend  school,  their  absence 
is  rare  and  the  vigilance  of  the  State  Board  of  Education 
inspectors  has  wholesome  terrors  for  them  if  they  try  to 
evade  school  and  work  under  age.  In  the  school  they  also 
mix  with  the  native  born  children  and  quickly  acquire  a 
knowledge,  that  if  left  to  themselves  would  demand  much 
more  time.  Many  of  those  of  older  growth  are  reached  by 
the  night  school.  There  should  be  a  definite  plan  to  in- 
crease their  number  through  making  appeal  to  the  various 
working  centers.  The  night  school  offers  grammar,  acade- 
mic and  manual  training  as  well  as  courses  in  office  and 
business  requirements.  That  the  chances  here  are  utilized 
is  shown  by  the  names  of  the  pupils  who  are  graduated.  One 
of  these  in  New  London  offered  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  $100  if  she  would  fit  him  for  a  course  in  a  higher 
institution.  The  New  York  City  Board  of  Education  has 
had  for  several  years  night  schools  whose  attendance  is 
nearly  all  foreign-born.  Its  curriculum  has  been  especially 
planned  to  meet  the  needs  of  students  who  care  to  go  higher 
than  the  ordinary  course  and  many  of  these  boys  have  en- 
tered college.  There  has  been  carried  on  in  New  York  City 
for  several  years  a  course  of  public  school  lectures  in  the 
evening  in  the  different  sections  of  the  city  to  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  general  education. 

Since  Bridgeport  opened  the  evening  trade  school  on 
John  Street  there  has  been  a  good  attendance,  mainly  for- 
eign. The  first  enrollment  was  223.  Pattern  making,  elec- 
trical work,  blue  prints,  reading,  architectural  draughting, 
printing  and  linotype  operation,  tool  making  and  sturdy 
Americanism  were  taught  among  other  things. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  71 

In  New  York  the  play  school  has  been  tried,  particularly 
with  regard  to  Americanization.  The  idea  was  successful. 
Besides  this  they  are  taught  useful  arts.  Children  are 
given  nutritious  soup,  bread,  butter  and  dessert  for  five 
cents. 

There  is  a  general  idea  that  the  poor,  foreign  born  live 
extravagantly  because  they  do  not  know  how  to  buy  food  in 
the  proper  proportions  to  secure  the  ingredients  making  for 
thorough  nourishment  of  body  and  brain.  Perhaps  this 
may  have  some  slight  foundation  with  certa'in  nationalities, 
but  it  is  certainly  a  theory  with  Poles,  Jews  and  Italians. 
Whether  through  accident,  custom  or  tradition  they  are  able 
to  make  combinations  of  food  that  are  tasteful,  nutritive 
and  well  balanced,  as  well  as  economical.  This  the  inves- 
tigator knows  from  having  partaken  of  them.  One  of 
these  women  will  make  a  meal  having  all  the  calorics  and 
protein  and  other  things  needed  out  of  less  money  than  an 
American  woman  would  pay  for  a  couple  of  chops. 

These  people  did  not  start  on  food  economy  after  the  war 
began  with  us  or  when  it  was  started  in  Europe.  They  have 
been  practising  it  for  years.  They  would  have  starved  if  they 
did  not.  It  would  be  a  great  mistake  for  an  investigator  or 
a  food  expert  to  attempt  an  inquiry  into  the  home  conditions 
of  the  foreign  born  with  the  idea  that  thus  economy  could 
be  taught.  Economy  is  their  middle  name.  Cleanliness, 
it  is  stated  with  much  pleasure,  is  more  often  present  than 
absent.  Physicians  and  insurance  agents,  the  latter  making 
weekly  visits,  will  testify  as  to  the  spotlessness  of  the  major- 
ity of  homes,  notably  among  Poles  and  Italians.  Further- 
more, the  foreigner  is  sensitively  jealous  of  the  sanctity  of 
his  home,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  persuade  him  that  it 
should  be  regarded  as  a  parade  ground  for  philanthropy. 
He  appears  to  have  imbedded  in  his  foreign  brain  the  Eng- 
lish idea  that  his  home  is  his  castle.  He  may  be  polite  at 
one  invasion  but  he  has  the  question  mark  after  it  and  the 
sense  of  belittlement.  The  war  demonstrated  in  this  and 
other  states  that  natural  conditions  have  been  quietly  and  ef- 
fectively working  with  the  plastic  younger  children  to  make 
out  of  the  heterogenous  mass  a  national  homogeneity.  As 
there  were  different  nationalities,  though  in  a  small  pro- 
portion, to  make  the  simon-pure  American  of  today,  so 
there  are  57  varieties  with  40  different  types  of  distinct  race 
and  section  to  go  into  the  American  citizen  of  the  future. 

Certain  fundamental  principles  of  truth,  justice  and  love 
of  liberty  belong  to  all  races.  There  is  no  insurmountable 
barrier  between  the  American  to  be  developed  and  the  Amer- 


72  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

lean  whose  development  has  ante-dated  his  by  four  or  five 
or  six  generations.  The  great  harmonizing,  solidifying, 
democratic  agent  is  the  system  of  school  education,  which 
brings  all  classes  and  races  together  and  does  its  work  on 
the  plan  that  all  are  free  and  equal. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  73 


SANITARY  CONDITIONS  AS  TO  DISEASE. 

The  health  of  factory  workers  was  made  a  subject  of  con- 
sideration by  large  firms  before  1914,  some  having  had 
well  developed  plans  successfully  copied  by  other  states  as 
early  as  1910.  In  1907  a  systematic  betterment  for  women 
workers  was  started  and  has  been  progressing  ever  since. 
Firms  employing  men  have  opened  lunch  rooms  and  the  fac- 
tory inspectors  have  insisted  on  all  employees  of  even  small 
numbers  having  emergency  kits.  In  1917-1918  there  was 
not  a  factory  of  any  size  in  the  state  which  had  not  an 
emergency  room  of  some  sort.  Many  of  these  were  of  the 
"some  sort"  class,  while  others  had  every  modern  appliance. 

In  many  factories  which  have  no  welfare  department  and 
whose  employees'  numbers  do  not  justify  such  an  addition, 
if  there  is  a  nurse  in  constant  attendance  she  can  do  a  great 
deal  of  good  by  going  through  the  factory,  seeing  if  the 
workers  are  in  good  working  trim  and  sending  those  who 
need  attention  to  her  room  or  to  their  home.  This  sug- 
gestion has  been  made  to  a  number  of  such  nurses  and  acted 
upon  with  decided  benefit,  one  nurse  saying  "there  are  less 
on  the  sick  list  now,  they  all  seem  to  know  me  .and  many  of 
them  come  voluntarily  for  treatment  who  previously  could 
not  be  induced  to  stop  work  for  any  reason." 

Another  thing  which  is  effected  by  such  a  daily  stroll 
through  the  place  is  more  cleanliness.  Offenders  will  be 
afraid  to  continue  if  they  are  caught  and  warned,  and  there 
will  also  be  less  of  the  cliques  and  little  jealousies  that  exist 
in  factories  if  there  is  someone  who  helps  to  straighten  out 
difficulties.  It  may  be  objected  to  by  some  trained  nurses 
that  this  means  practically  combining  the  functions  of  a 
nurse  with  those  of  a  welfare  worker  with  no  increase  in 
pay.  Some  women  even  thought  it  lowered  the  dignity  of  a 
trained  nurse.  This  objection  can  be  dismissed  with  the  com- 
ment that  a  real  nurse  puts  well  being  of  others  before  her 
dignity,  and  through  her  devotion  to  her  calling  has  enough 
of  the  quality  about  her  not  to  be  worried.  The  first  reason 
deserves  entertainment.  An  employer  who  can  obtain  this 
sort  of  interested  worker,  who  will  combine  both  functions 
of  nurse  and  welfare  worker,  where  it  is  impossible  to  obtain 
the  latter,  is  securing  something  worth  money  for  which  he 
ought  to  be  willing  to  pay.  The  places  where  this  combina- 


74  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

tion  is  in  effect  have  paid  gratifying  returns  on  the  invest- 
ment. 

Where  the  follow-up  system  is  employed  in  large  and 
small  concerns  it  has  caused  more  than  60%  decrease  in 
illness,  and  in  the  case  of  cuts,  bruised  fingers,  etc.,  has  pre- 
vented infection.  Wherever  there  is  an  emergency  room  in 
a  concern  which  has  no  women  employes  and  does  not  ex-* 
ceed  25  or  50  men,  the  foreman  is  in  charge.  Some  of  these 
men  are  neat  and  keep  their  places  in  order  but  a  large 
proportion  have  the  places  so  dirty  that  anyone  coming  for 
aid  has  to  run  considerable  risk  of  infection.  And  many  of 
them  know  only  three  cures  for  all  ills  or  accidents,  Jamaica 
ginger,  peroxide  and  whiskey  or  brandy.  If  a  man  has  a 
finger  cut  and  it  is  bandaged,  they  do  not  follow  him  up  to 
see  how  the  cut  is  healing.  Of  course  in  case  of  serious 
injury  or  something  beyond  their  limited  knowledge,  they 
call  in  the  physician  with  whom  the  company  has  an  agree- 
ment. The  foremen  seldom  keep  record  of  the  time,  num- 
ber of  accidents  or  general  condition  of  their  patients. 
There  is  reason  for  suspicion  in  view  of  the  singularly  small 
number  of  reports  returned  to  this  office  on  certain  subjects, 
that  the  physicians  do  not  devote  much  time  to  recording 
cases. 

The  method  employed  by  the  head  nurse  of  the  Hartford 
Rubber  Works  is  so  business-like,  direct  and  simple  that 
it  can  be  outlined  here  for  the  benefit  of  many  concerns 
which  have  not  this  simplified  system.  It  has  a  large, 
well  trained  force  looking  after  the  welfare  of  its  workers, 
and  had  under  project  the  building  of  a  $75,000  welfare 
house  on  the  grounds  when  the  United  States  government 
caused  all  building  operations  not  essential  to  actual  war 
work  to  be  temporarily  suspended.  This  firm  has  (about 
2,000  employes  whom  it  will  keep  all  the  year  and  probably 
increase,  and  its  experience,  therefore,  in  adopting  devices 
which  give  it  an  accurate  idea  of  its  employees'  state  of 
health  is  a  guide. 

A  set  of  books  on  the  loose  leaf  plan  is  the  foundation. 
The  applicants  for  treatment  are  listed,  the  date  each  one 
comes,  the  character  of  the  injury,  the  number  of  treat- 
ments, the  number  of  times  he  required  treatment,  the 
progress  or  otherwise  of  his  malady  or  injury  are  all 
noted.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  a  brief  glance  gives  a  com- 
plete idea  of  how  each  individual  stands,  and  his  economic 
value  to  the  firm.  This  system  when  it  was  computed  at  the 
end  of  a  period  was  found  to  have  reduced  the  days  of  ill- 
ness, exposed  shammers  and  to  have  cured  habitual  grumb- 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  75 

lers,  who,  if  they  did  not  know  that  each  visit  was  carefully 
recorded,  would  have  been  regular  patrons  every  day  for 
some  imaginary  ill.  There  are  more  of  this  class  among 
men  than  women.  It  is  also  impossible  to  discover  in  a  few 
months  whether  a  man  or  woman  is  really  in  the  occupation 
best  fitted  to  or  her.  Many  are  ill  and  do  botchy  work 
simply  because  it  is  not  the  sort  of  work  which  appeals  to 
them.  If  they  are  given  something  in  which  they  are  in- 
terested, the  rise  in  the  quality  and  excellence  of  their  pro- 
duction is  marked.  It  has  really  astonished  many  of  those 
under  this  combined  medical  treatment  and  economic  obser- 
vation to  find  the  danger  they  were  in  of  becoming  chronic 
consumers  of  medicine.  They  are  also  endowed  with  a  con- 
fidence in  their  own  health  which  is  a  fine  business  asset. 
The  knowledge  that  he  is  injuring  his  commercial  value  is 
a  great  tonic  to  any  man.  In  short,  this  sort  of  record 
makes  a  man  understand  that  he  himself  is  the  prime  factor 
in  making  himself  a  necessary  or  a  negligible  worker. 
Where  there  are  small  emergency  rooms  or  kits  it  was  usual 
to  find,  except  where  the  cabinet  was  purchased  fully 
equipped,  the  remedies  employed  were  primitive.  In  some 
of  the  places  the  roll  of  cotton  was  filthy  on  the  outside. 
Jamaica  ginger,  bromo  seltzer,  alcohol,  peroxide  with  some 
whiskey  were  the  principal  remedies. 

From  observation  of  the  reports  which  some  of  the  men 
and  women  kept  for  the  investigator,  it  was  found  where 
the  bromo  seltzer  and  Jamaica  ginger  were  mainstays,  the 
consumption  was  alarming  and  the  investigator  after  a 
couple  of  weeks'  study  of  this  phase  in  the  places,  decided 
it  was  best  to  forbid  the  bromo  seltzer  and  restrict  the  use 
of  Jamaica  ginger  and  whiskey.  It  was  done  only  after  it 
was  found  the  same  patrons  came  every  day  or  two  or  three 
times  a  week  for  these  remedies,  one  man  actually  taking 
aromatic  spirits  of  ammonia  in  the  same  dose  with  Jamaica 
ginger.  A  reasonable  time  was  spent  waiting  for  him  to 
expire  but  he  only  became  quarrelsome.  Another  man 
served  by  a  sympathetic  foreman  habitually  had  a  dose  of 
Jamaica  ginger  with  whiskey  in  it  because  "nothing  but 
that  would  take  away  the  pain  about  his  heart."  The  en- 
forcement of  the  restriction  caused  considerable  grumbling, 
but  as  substitutes  had  been  provided  for  the  banished  ar- 
ticles, the  number  of  workers,  both  men  and  women  who 
suffered  with  weakness  of  the  stomach  decreased  surpris- 
ingly. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  a  number  of  undesirable  dis- 
eased not  reportable  under  the  Occupational  Disease  Act, 


76  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

have  had  victims  in  every  place  where  numbers  of  people 
are  employed.  There  is  gross  exaggeration  respecting  the 
extent  of  some  of  these  diseases  but  the  records  of  army 
doctors  show  there  is  ground  enough  for  desiring  the  exer- 
cise of  more  precautions.  There  is  absolute  need  of  keep- 
ing track  of  the  unfortunate  people  who  are  afflicted  and  of 
safeguarding  innocent  victims.  A  record  of  all  cases  dis- 
covered in  factories  and  other  business  places  should  be 
kept,  not  necessarily  to  be  published,  but  in  such  a  way  that 
cases  could  be  treated  and  the  public  protected.  It  can  be 
done  without  exploitation  and  it  is  a  duty  that  it  be  done. 
Persons  so  affected  are  shy  of  doctors  and  nurses  in  fac- 
tories. Cases  where  they  were  under  observation  showed 
they  became  suspicious,  gave  up  their  jobs  and  disappeared 
to  turn  up  somewhere  else  as  a  peril.  In  one  instance  the 
entire  record  of  a  case  was  torn  from  the  book  in  which  it 
was  kept. 

They  constitute  a  serious  problem,  even  though 
it  is  not  as  large  as  supposed.  Some  aid  might  be  afforded 
if  the  physicians  were  to  go  through  the  factories  personally 
at  irregular  intervals.  They  would  thus  see  those  who  had 
never  come  near  them.  The  best  method  is  general  adoption 
of  the  plan  of  one  great  business  concern  which  keeps  its 
force  to  its  satisfaction  and  comfort  by  having  a  physical 
examination  of  applicants  before  they  are  accepted  as  work- 
ers. This  would  act  as  a  protection  and  also  be  a  direct 
help  to  any  who  were  found  to  need  attention. 

An  example  is  here  given  to  carry  its  own  warning:  In 
the  early  summer  of  1917  a  woman  who  was  hopelessly  and 
frightfully  diseased  and  aware  of  it  was  employed  in  a  large 
city  in  a  position  that  made  her  a  menace  to  thousands  of 
people  during  the  year.  While  it  was  not  necessary  that 
she  even  see  them,  the  nature  of  her  calling  was  such  that 
articles  of  imperative  need  passed  from  her  hands  to  others, 
and  she  ate  and  drank  from  dishes  used  by  others.  When 
discovered  she  was  informed  by  the  physician  called  to  at- 
tend her  that  she  must  at  once  give  up  that  work.  On  his 
next  call  she  was  gone.  The  earth  might  have  swallowed 
her  for  all  the  trace  left.  It  seems  almost  unbelievable 
that  she  could  have  reached  such  a  state  without  being  re- 
ported by  some  physician,  but  it  is  a  curious  psychological 
fact  that  some  reputable  doctors  shrink  from  making  reports 
of  such  cases,  and  others  who  are  concerned  do  not  wish  to 
be  known  as  knowing  anything  about  them.  While  so  many 
agencies  are  at  work  and  are  being  suggested  to  undertake 
unnecessary  work  that  only  embarrasses  workers  and  em- 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  77 

ployes,  it  seems  there  should  be  more  attention  paid  to  this 
matter,  involving  such  genuine  health  menace.  Nor  should 
any  further  agency  than  the  existing  State  Board  of  Health 
with  its  exceptional  good  powers  be  employed.  It  can  outline 
for  physicians  in  various  places  a  course  of  action  to  be 
pursued.  The  disease  in  question  should  be  made  compul- 
sorily  reportable.  A  penalty  ought  to  be  given  for  failure 
to  follow  such  a  plan.  Occupational  diseases  are  required 
to  be  reported  to  the  Department  of  Labor.  A  fee  sufficient 
to  pay  for  the  time  consumed  in  making  the  report  is  pro- 
vided, but  it  is  only  exceptionally  conscientious  physicians 
who  furnish  any  details. 

Health  conditions  would  be  much  safer  if  there  was  in- 
stituted in  every  factory  or  place  where  people  are  employed 
the  free,  flowing  water  system  when  washing-up  time  comes. 
Abolition  of  the  trough  sinks  has  been  urged  before. 

Another  measure  would  be  putting  women  of  mature  age, 
still  able  to  work,  as  cleaners  in  every  factory,  to  have  full 
charge  of  the  lavatories  and  toilets.  The  dirty,  broken 
toilets  and  wash  basins  and  towels  and  drinking  facilities 
are  constant  dangers.  The  bubbler  water  system  should 
also  be  extended. 


78  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


YOUNG  MOTHERS  IN  INDUSTRY. 


The  work  of  women  in  every  form  of  industry  was  a 
most  needed  help  in  1917-1918.  Women  as  munition  work- 
ers were  proficient  long  before  the  United  States  entered 
the  war.  But  after  that,  the  demand  for  production  for 
ourselves  met  with  a  noble  response  from  all  ages,  colors 
and  conditions.  Women  of  all  grades  mingled  harmonious- 
ly in  the  common  cause.  Believing  that  there  would  be 
greater  call  for  women's  work  after  the  first  selective  draft 
was  filled,  knowing  that  besides  the  large  quota  this  state 
was  assigned,  that  hundreds  of  men  had  left  their  positions 
to  do  State  and  Federal  office  war  work,  concerted  move- 
ment was  begun  to  register  women  in  all  cities  so  that  when 
the  emergency  came,  their  services  could  be  obtained  either 
voluntarily  or  through  requisition.  In  1914-1915,  several 
hundred  young  married  women  were  working  in  munition 
and  laundry  plants ;  their  presence  in  the  latter  being  a  com- 
mon occurrence.  In  the  laundry  work,  this  class  of  workers 
did  not  have  to  labor  continuously  nor  were  they  employed 
every  day  in  the  week  in  all  cases.  Many  came  in  for  a 
few  hours  daily,  three  or  four  days  a  week  in  the  wet  wash 
laundries.  But  some  were  in  the  regular  six-day-a-week 
concerns  but  never  at  any  labor  requiring  special  concen- 
tration of  mind,  which  would  react  in  fatigue  of  body,  nor 
were  they  compelled  to  remain  seven  or  eight  hours  in  cer- 
tain positions.  In  1915-1916  there  were  in  130  laundries 
of  the  state  1015  married  women  of  whom  454  had  non- 
supporting  husbands  and  the  number  of  married,  widowed 
and  divorced  women  reporting  living  children  was  1196. 
In  the  hotels,  dining  rooms  and  restaurants  there  were  1039 
married  women,  of  whom  349  had  non-supporting  husbands 
Of  married,  divorced  and  widowed  women  working  there 
were  1488.  The  number  repotting  living  children  was 
1067.  In  the  candy,  confectionery  and  drug  stores  were 
164  married,  252  married,  divorced  and  widowed;  232  re- 
porting 212  living  children.  No  account  is  taken  of  the 
married  women  working  at  that  time  in  the  factories  of  all 
kinds,  nor  of  those  dressmaking,  doing  millinery  work  and 
in  other  store  occupations.  The  total  number  of  married 
women  employed  in  the  industries  investigated  in  1915- 
1916  was  2218. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN*  THE  STATE.  79 

The  total  number  of  women  reported  married  in  the  fac- 
tory industries  in  1918  was  19482.  This  number  covers 
munition,  regular  factory  and  other  work  which  is  subor- 
dinate to  the  factory  work.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
women  both  married,  single,  widowed  and  divorced  in  the 
factory  work  of  the  state  in  1917-1918  was  less  than  9000. 

In  this  increase  we  do  not  reckon  the  small  per  cent,  of  the 
volunteer  workers,  as  in  making  up  reports  of  uniform 
workers,  this  class  cannot  be  considered,  nor  should  it  enter 
into  the  question  save  as  a  transient  quality  quickly  elimi- 
nated. Nevertheless,  some  of  these  volunteer  workers,  as 
the  teacher  class,  remained  because  of  the  better  wage  and 
less  nerve  destroying  occupation. 

Comparison  of  the  figures  obtained  in  the  investigation 
of  1917-1918  with  allowance  for  those  who  have  since  the 
close  of  the  war  returned  to  their  usual  occupations,  allow- 
ing for  the  number  who  would  be  classed  as  regular  workers 
at  all  times;  for  those  who  had  withdrawn  from  work  be- 
fore the  war  and  then  returned  and  now  remain ;  for  those 
in  toto  who  must  be  ranked  as  permanent  workers,  the  per- 
centage of  the  entire  workers  in  the  factories  who  are  mar- 
ried women  is  5.48%  ;  of  this  number,  less  than  one-third 
of  1%  are  young  married  women  with  children  ranging 
from  four  or  five  months  to  four  to  ten  years.  At  one  time, 
in  the  height  of  the  work,  there  were  employed  in  the  war 
and  other  allied  plants  about  600  young  women  from  18  to 
30  who  reported  themselves  as  married.  In  1914-1915  there 
were  several  hundred  young  married  women  in  the  muni- 
tion plants  then  visited  but  not  studied  in  detail.  These 
women  were  17%  foreigners  who  spoke  English  more  or 
less  well ;  between  2  and  3%  who  did  not  speak  it  at  all ;  35% 
who  knew  enough  English  to  carry  on  a  limited  conversa- 
tion; 20%  who  had  been  in  the  public  schools  as  far  as 
through  the  grammar  grade;  22%  good  Americans,  and  the 
remaining  illterate  no  matter  what  their  nationality. 

This  was  before  we  entered  the  fight.  Not  one  of  these 
women  worked  for  any  motive  except  the  desire  to  earn  mon- 
ey. Since  we  have  been  in  the  war,  the  number  of  young, 
married  women  working  who  were  personally  interviewed 
and  questioned  about  their  motives  in  working  made  no 
pretence  of  any  lofty  patriotism.  They  were  working  pure- 
ly and  simply  for  money,  and  they  did  not  care  whether 
they  displaced  men  with  families  to  support  if  they  them- 
selves could  only  make  money.  Their  attitude  was  openly 
and  sordidly  disgusting  in  this  respect.  Few  of  them  were 
working  for  necessity  either.  While  some  had  husbands 


80  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

who  were  not  giving  them  all  their  money,  the  non-support- 
ing husband  was  the  possession.of  the  older  married  women. 
The  young,  married  women  with  children,  on  the  whole, 
had  nothing  to  complain  of  as  to  treatment  or  support.  In 
nearly  every  case  their  husbands  were  making  good  wages. 
Always  to  be  excepted  is  the  small  class  of  volunteer  work- 
ers which  embraced  some  young,  married  women.  Of  these 
no  statistics  were  asked  or  obtained  through  any  source,  as 
they  could  not  be  considered  a  permanent  labor  factor. 

The  "homes"  some  women  left  to  care  for  themselves 
were  shocking.  They  were  dirty,  dark,  unsanitary,  floors 
unswept,  dishes  unwashed,  clothing  hanging  over  chairs  and 
reeking  with  the  smell  of  garments  long  worn  and  seldom 
washed ;  curtains,  stiff  with  dirt  and  so  rotten  from  lack  of 
washing  that  they  crumbled  when  touched,  obscured  such 
light  as  the  filthy  windows  allowed  to  enter.  Here  is  one 
sample.  The  place  was  reached  by  a  narrow  stairway  whose 
treads  were  well  .worn.  The  few  feet  of  entrance  space  was 
occupied  by  two  old  women  whose  faces  were  literally  brown 
parchment,  seamed  with  wrinkles.  Both  of  them  were  an 
offense  to  the  nostrils.  Each  of  them  was  guardian  of 
children  whose  mothers  were  working.  One  baby  of  four- 
teen months  squirmed  on  the  lap  of  its  grandmother.  Asa- 
fetida  was  as  attar  of  rose  to  the  odor  which  this  child  gave 
out  every  time  it  turned.  There  were  fifteen  homes  simi- 
lar to  this  in  as  many  different  places  visited.  In  other 
abodes  the  houses  were  not  as  bad  but  all  showed  lack  of 
care  and  hurry.  In  35  there  was  neatness  and  order  but 
these  were  presided  over  by  a  mother  or  aged  relative  who 
had  evidently  been  addicted  to  cleanliness  all  their  lives. 
There  were  no  children  "sewed  up"  for  the  winter  in  these 
residences.  Instances  like  the  first  cited  are  not  rare.  Any 
doubting  Thomas  or  Thomasine  who  wishes  to  enjoy  them 
personally  can  do  so  by  making  a  tour  through  some  of  the 
tenement  districts  in  Hartford,  not  omitting  Windsor  Street 
and  its  surroundings. 

In  New  Haven,  Waterbury  and  Bridgeport  the  oppor- 
tunities are  large,  and  if  any  pilgrim  on  the  Valley- 
train  wishes  to  take  advantage  of  the  period  spent 
by  that  conveyance  at  Middletown  in  recuperating 
from  the  arduous  journey  from  Hartford  or  New  London, 
a  most  valuable  and  interesting  sociological  study  can  be 
obtained  by  wandering  through  the  tenement  district  of 
which  Lumber  Street  in  Middletown  is  no  inconspicuous 
part.  The  children  there,  however,  are  not  bodily  filthy, 
especially  in  the  warm  summer  months  when  they  display 


Bfe 


W 

' 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  81 

a  primitive,  and  on  the  score  of  convenience  and  clean- 
liness, commendable  aversion  to  burdensome  clothing. 

Many  of  these  homes  from  which  the  wife  and  mother  es- 
capes to  work  in  the  large,  well  lighted,  well  heated  and  gen- 
erally far  more  attractive  factory  or  shop,  are  wonderful 
examples  of  how  to  conserve  space.  One  had  a  man,  his  wife 
and  four  children  all  sleeping  in  one  room  on  a  bed,  a  couch, 
and  part  of  a  mattress.  In  the  closet  adjoining,  which  was  of 
fairly  good  size,  there  was  the  rest  of  the  mattress  where 
a  boarder,  the  wife's  brother,  courted  sleep  when  he  was 
not  disputing  occupancy  with  vermin.  The  kitchen  served 
for  anything  you  might  happen  to  call  it.  This  apartment 
was  sublet  from  an  enterprising  couple  who  draped  them- 
selves and  a  cousin  in  the  remaining  two  rooms.  The  kitchen 
was  run  on  the  community  plan.  The  mother  of  the  chil- 
ren  worked  days.  This  menage  would  have  been  a  desirable 
place  for  "isms"  of  a  number  of  kinds  but  the  epidemic 
took  four  of  its  inhabitants  in  two  days. 

Up  to  the  end  of  1917  the  menace  of  the  young  mother 
in  industry  was  not  in  the  minds  of  other  than  the  few  who 
were  aware  of  the  circumstances  surrounding  her  entrance 
and  continuance.  In  fact,  in  the  months  preceding  Novem- 
ber llth,  1918  she  was  coming  to  be  considered  as  a  factor 
to  be  depended  upon  rather  than  eliminated  and  provisions 
were  being  made  for  her  comfort  and  the  care  of  her  chil- 
dren. Many  mothers  who  worked  had  brought  their  chil- 
dren to  existing  day  nurseries,  paying  cheerfully  the  charge 
for  having  them  cared  for  while  they  labored;  others  had 
children  come  in  after  school  and  care  for  their  little  ones, 
others  had  aged  relatives  do  the  work.  Still  others  had  the 
older  care  for  the  younger  and  when  they  returned  at  night, 
did  the  cooking,  washing,  mending  for  the  next  or  for  as 
many  days  as  they  could.  These  women  were  generally 
the  ones  who  had  the  home  feeling  developed  in  some  de- 
gree and  who  felt  it  their  duty  to  do  something  toward  the 
comfort  of  their  children  and  their  husbands.  The  latter 
did  not  feel  the  hardships  of  the  wife  working  as  much 
as  did  the  children.  But  in  all  the  husbands  interviewed 
on  the  matter  there  was  not  found  enough  to  warrant 
a  comparison  of  per  cent,  who  favored  the  absence 
of  their  wives  from  children  and  home.  In  fact,  the 
larger  part  were  a  little  sore  over  it  but  admitted 
there  was  no  use  in  kicking  up  a  row.  Several  very  intel- 
ligent men  with  a  good  class  of  wives  said  they  recognized 
the  discomfort  and  disadvantages  but  they  did  not  feel  jus- 
tified in  asking  their  wives  to  stay  at  home  on  account  of 


82  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

the  high  cost  of  living.  They  had  no  infant  children.  Those 
they  had  were  well  cared  for.  Both  were  laboring  in  order 
to  keep  ahead  of  their  expenses  and  to  ultimately  gain  their 
own  home.  These  men  were  labor  union  members  and  in 
one  case  the  man's  wife  was  one  of  the  most  progressive 
and  well-known  women  in  the  leadership  of  the  labor  unions 
of  her  city.  Many  men  were  found,  however,  who  were 
not  in  favor  of  the  young  women  working  on  account  of 
the  injury  which  would  eventually  be  done  to  their  children, 
because  they  thought  the  mother  should  be  with  the  child 
when  it  was  young  and  because  they  thought  it  would  re- 
sult in  a  bad  effect  on  the  wages  of  the  men  when  the  war 
was  over.  The  view  of  the  laboring  man  who  is  married 
and  especially  the  view  of  the  laboring  man  who  is  a  mem- 
ber of  a  labor  union  is  worth  having  on  this  matter. 

Day  nurseries  in  cities  where  women  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  leaving  their  children  through  actual  necessity 
while  they  are  working  have  been  admirable  substitutes  as 
far  as  an  institution  can  be  for  a  mother.  They  have  seen 
to  the  physical  wants  of  the  child  and  its  health.  These 
nurseries  have  not,  however,  been  organized  to  care  for  the 
children  of  fathers  and  mothers  who  were  making  good 
wages  and  were  amply  able  to  have  their  children  cared  for 
at  home.  Nor  were  they  supported  by  the  public  in  order 
that  women  might  shirk  the  responsibilities  of  motherhood 
and  continue  as  a  wage  earner  when  there  was  no  necessity 
for  her  so  doing.  The  investigator  has  been  told  of  one  day 
nursery  where  a  woman  who  was  working,  receiving  good 
wages,  had  a  husband  working,  receiving  good  wages,  both 
living  amicably  together,  yet  both  concurring  in  sending 
their  child  to  a  day  nursery  year  after  year,  because  they  do 
not  wish  to  be  bothered  maintaining  a  home.  The  day  nurs- 
ery as  an  encouragement  and  aid  to  women  who  have  to 
labor  to  support  their  children  is  a  necessity.  The  day 
nursery  as  a  convenience  for  women  who  wish  to  make  mon- 
ey while  deliberately  depriving  their  children  of  the  compan- 
ionship and  character  building  which  are  greatest  aids  to  the 
making  of  good  citizens,  is  not  far  from  being  a  menacing 
and  undesirable  institution.  Whether  or  not  the  demands 
of  the  war  would  have  increased  the  employment  of  young 
mothers,  the  investigator  from  the  result  of  her  observa- 
tions, from  the  statements  made  to  her,  would  have  recom- 
mended the  complete  cessation  of  this  sort  of  labor.  Nurses 
in  factories  and  physicians  of  large  experience  when  ques- 
tioned as  to  opinions  on  the  employment  of  young  mothers 
were  a  unit  in  condemning  it  and  pointed  out  evils  which 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  83 

were  certain  to  result,  not  hesitating  to  say  it  would  make 
for  a  race  of  physical  and  moral  degenerates. 

In  view  of  the  tensity  of  the  situation  over  there  where  we 
needed  all  kinds  of  agencies  to  help  win  the  fight,  some  of 
the  men  who  were  unsparing  in  denunciation  of  this  class 
of  labor,  conceded  it  might  be  used  for  a  short  time.  A 
letter  illustrative  of  this  condition  of  mind  is  here  given : 

"State  Department  of  Health,  Commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, 

Boston,  September,  1918. 

"Committee  on  Child  Conservation, 

DAVID  L.  EDSALL, 

WILLIAM  J.  GALLIVAN,  M.  D. 

LYMAN  ASA  JONES,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Edsall  has  referred  your  letter  to 
him  to  me  for  answer.  The  question  of  day  nurseries  in 
industrial  plants  has  been  discussed  at  considerable  length 
by  our  Committee.  We  realize  that  on  theoretical  grounds 
the  day  nurseries  ought  to  be  discouraged  and  that  all  the 
mothers,  so  far  as  possible,  stay  at  home  and  take  care  of 
their  own  babies.  We  realize  also  from  the  practical  point 
of  view  the  many  instances  it  is  impossible  and  that  under 
the  present  war  conditions  the  temptation  to  work  at  high 
wages  is  more  than  these  mothers  are  able  to  resist.  We 
have  been  unable  thus  far  to  take  any  definite  stand  in  re- 
lation to  day  nurseries  in  general.  There  are  several  day 
nurseries  that  have  seemed  below  even  possible  standards 
of  cleanliness  and  these  we  have  attacked.  Others  are  being 
conducted  along  excellent  lines  and  these  we  have  done 
nothing  about.  At  the  present  time  there  is  a  general 
movement  in  the  state  among  all  the  agencies  interested  in 
the  subject  to  present  a  bill  to  the  next  Legislature  requir- 
ing that  where  day  nurseries  exist  they  shall  be  under  the 
supervision  of  some  proper  authority.  If  this  bill  goes 
through,  I  think  most  of  the  disadvantages  of  the  day  nur- 
series, so  far  as  the  health  of  the  children  is  concerned,  can 
be  taken  care  of.  Of  course  we  still  have  the  economic 
disadvantage  of  the  women  being  employed  outside  of  their 
homes,  which  I  think  can  be  met  only  by  a  long  process  of 
education. 

"I  realize  that  this  letter  is  very  indefinite  in  character, 
but  in  the  light  of  the  present  conditions,  the  committee  has 
felt  that  it  was  not  right  to  take  a  definite  stand  against  all 


84  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

day  nurseries,  neither  do  we  want  to  record  ourselves  in 
favor  of  the  establishment  of  day  nurseries.  We  have, 
therefore,  adopted  this  more  or  less  drifting  policy  until 
there  is  a  more  satisfactory  solution  of  the  matter.  • 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

RICHARD  W.  SMITH,  Secretary." 

Manufacturers,  seeing  the  entrance  of  this  labor,  fore- 
seeing the  evils  resultant  from  neglect  of  the  children, 
sought  to  forestall  them,  and  at  the  same  time  make  the 
mothers  feel  more  satisfied.  To  this  end,  they  spent  much 
money  in  fitting  up  nurseries  where  every  help  in  the  line 
of  comfort,  entertainment,  education  and  food  was  given. 
The  mothers  brought  their  children  to  the  plant  when  they 
came  in  the  morning,  saw  them  have  their  garments  changed 
to  spotlessly  clean  ones  in  some  nurseries ;  slipped  in  to  see 
them  during  the  day,  and  really  had  reason  to  feel  content. 
That  is,  some  mothers.  Other  mothers  deposited  their  chil- 
dren as  they  would  so  much  baggage,  reclaimed  them  at 
night,  when  they  reached  home  put  them  to  bed  and  spent 
a  large  part  of  the  evening  gallivanting  around,  free  from 
all  sense  of  care  and  getting  themselves  so  fatigued  that 
they  were  not  worth  as  much,  economically  considered,  as 
if  they  had  had  to  have  charge  of  their  children.  They 
drifted  away  from  their  children  and  their  husbands.  They 
lost  the  intense  mother  love  which  causes  the  real  mother 
nature  to  long  for  constant  companionship  with  and  care 
for  the  child.  The  investigator  knows  of  several  cases 
where  they  did  not  develop  morally  as  result  of  the  removal 
of  care,  and  has  been  told  of  some  others. 

One  young  mother  whose  husband  had  gone  to  Italy  to 
fight  for  his  country  when  it  went  to  war,  was  in  great 
distress  because  she  was  convinced  that  his  family  and 
himself,  if  he  should  happen  to  come  back,  would  not  exact- 
ly approve  of  her  line  of  conduct.  "Oh,  if  you  do  not  help 
me,  my  modda  and  my  fadda  and  my  husband's  modda  and 
fadda  will  keel  me."  "Well,  you  did  this  once  before,  and 
you  promised  you  were  going  to  be  good."  "Yes,  yes,  but 
my  husband,  he  may  be  keeled.  Then  he  not  come  back. 
I  marry  thees  man,  it  is  not  so  bad,  no.  You  will  getta  dis 
leetle  baby  in  somewhere  for  me?  Eet  is  my  engagement 
baby." 

If  the  war  had  continued  and  young  mother  labor  was 
thought  urgently  needed,  what  would  the  investigator  sug- 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  85 

gest  to  take  its  place  if  a  recommendation  for  its  non-em- 
ployment were  observed? 

One  reason  why  so  many  of  the  manufacturers  considered 
the  day  nursery  in  their  premises  was  that  it  was  urged 
upon  them  by  patriotic  women  who  saw  the  need  of  in  part 
atoning  to  the  child  for  the  mother  lack.  These  women 

tra  'coking  to  the  future.  They  were  largely  of  the  leis- 
ure class  in  that  they  had  wealth  and  were  free  from  the 
cares  of  young  children.  This  class  of  woman  could  have 
been  called  on.  She  could  have  urged  her  maids  to  follow 
her  example.  And  she  would  have  gone  promptly  and  ef- 
ficaciously, as  was  shown  by  the  splendid  manner  in  which 
women  of  that  very  sort  volunteered  their  services.  It  is 
an  abundant  class  and  an  intelligent  and  patriotic  one. 
which  would  not  for  a  moment  spare  itself  at  the  expense  of 
coming  generations. 

The  war  is  over.  Industry  is  becoming  normal.  The 
first  act  of  all  employers  of  labor  should  be  to  release  the 
young  mothers  save  in  the  cases  where  they  must  work  to 
support  the  children  of  their  dead  husbands.  And,  too, 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  keep  from  employment  the 
men  whom  they  have  displaced. 


86  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


BONUS  AND  OTHER  SYSTEMS  AFFECTING 
WORKERS. 

During  1917  and  1918  various  methods  were  tried  by  the 
employers  of  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  stability 
and  steady  production  in  the  workers,  notably  in  the  muni- 
tion plants.  The  bonus  system  held  high  favor  in  the  minds 
of  some  but  the  success  with  which  it  operated  largely  de- 
pended on  the  manner  in  which  it  was  applied.  Even  then 
careful  consideration  of  its  results  and  disadvantages  war- 
rants the  belief  on  the  whole  it  is  a  good  system  to  omit. 

Millions  of  dollars  are  lost  every  year  by  the  unnecessary 
changes  in  employment  of  men.  Many  of  these  changes  are 
due  as  much  to  the  stubborn  way  in  which  some  employers 
refused  to  get  in  line  with  up  to  date  methods  as  to  the 
tendency  of  the  employees  to  move  from  place  to  place. 
Bonuses  might  be  offered  and  wages  might  be  raised  but  if 
there  were  some  special  disadvantages  about  the  place  of 
employment,  a  certain  class  of  workers  would  leave  for  one 
which  was  preferred.  Contrariwise,  if  bonuses  were  paid 
promptly  and  at  short  intervals  to  another  class  it  would 
remain  no  matter  what  the  working  conditions. 

Misrepresenting  the  truth  about  the  payment  of  bonus 
was  the  cause  of  many  workmen  leaving  plants  having  that 
feature  in  1917-1918.  The  agents  of  these  plants  in  seeking 
men  for  the  factories  gave  them  to  understand  that  bonuses 
would  be  paid  weekly  when  the  truth  was  the  payment  was 
monthly  or  tri-monthly.  In  other  places  where  the  dis- 
satisfaction arose,  it  was  due  to  the  firm  not  paying  the 
bonus  unless  the  worker  was  there  on  the  exact  time  speci- 
fied as  to  the  day  of  the  month.  Example :  If  a  bonus  were 
to  run  three  months,  starting  May  1st,  and  ending  August 
1st,  the  woker  would  not  receive  it  if  May  1st  began  on 
Sunday  and  he  started  work  for  the  concern  on  May  2nd 
and  worked  to  the  end  of  the  last  working  day,  Saturday, 
July  31st.  Perhaps  this  was  technically  right,  but  it  might 
have  saved  considerable  labor  turnover  by  relaxing  a  little. 
Many  men  in  the  independent  days  of  the  great  demand  for 
workers  went  up  into  the  air  about  this.  Others  who  de- 
liberately meant  to  only  work  the  three  months  and  obtain 
the  bonus  and  who  might  have  contracted  to  be  working 
elsewhere  on  Monday,  August  2nd,  were  enraged  and  made 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  87 

complaint.  The  whole  matter  might  have  been  amicably 
settled  and  explained  by  using  tact. 

It  might  have  been  the  means  of  turning  aside  all  trouble 
if  each  new  employe  was  told  the  exact  terms  of  the  bonus 
the  day  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  concern.  It  is  true 
that  in  plain  sight  was  hung  up  the  notice  stating  the  terms 
of  the  bonus,  but  oral  instruction  conveys  the  idea  much 
more  clearly  than  printed,  especially  if  the  printed  deals 
with  a  great  amount  of  terms  and  specifications.  Where 
the  agents  obtaining  the  men  deliberatelv  falsified,  the 
statement  of  the  truth  upon  giving  the  worker  his  number 
would  have  prevented  trouble. 

There  were  about  500  complaints  on  the  bonus  system  re- 
ceived in  this  office  during  one  month  of  1917.  These  com- 
plaints were  not  recorded  because  it  was  thought  the  bonus 
was  a  voluntary  offer  on  the  part  of  the  employer  and  could 
not  be  held  as  a  wage  agreement.  That  it  should  be  so 
considered  was  afterward  decided  by  the  New  York  State 
Industrial  Commission  and  the  decision  confirmed  by  appeal 
on  a  demurrer.  The  weekly  bonus  put  in  the  envelop  every 
pay  night  was  a  better  plan.  Herewith  is  given  an  example 
of  a  bonus  in  a  town  which  has  not  been  the  scene  of  much 
labor  trouble  or  turnover : 

NOTICES ! 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  management  of  this  company  to 
continue  during  the  coming  year,  the  "Bonus"  now  in  ef- 
fect, but  owing  to  the  unusual  condition  confronting  us, 
which  makes  the  future  more  than  ordinarily  uncertain,  we 
do  not  feel  that  we  can  obligate  ourselves  beyond  July  1st, 
1918.  We,  therefore,  announce  that  we  will  pay  a  bonus  of 
10%  on  all  wages  earned  during  regular  time  hours  from 
January  1st,  1918,  to  July  1st,  1918,  but  not  on  wages  earned 
during  over-time  hours  as  this  over-time  is  already  being 
paid  for  at  an  advance  of  50%. 

On  or  before  July  1st  we  will  make  a  further  announce- 
as  tc  whether  or  rot  we  will  continue  the  bonus  for  a  fur- 
ther period. 

THE  PLAN  IF  THE  BONUS  RUNS  TO  JULY  FIRST  ONLY. 

All  employees  on  the  pay  roll  as  of  January  1, 1918,  work- 
ing day  work  and  piece  work  who  continue  in  the  employ  of 
the  company  until  July  1st,  1918,  will  receive  an  extra  10% 
of  their  total  earnings,  during  regular  time  hours,  for  the 
above  period,  distributed  as  follows: 


88  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


of  the  earnings  as  above  for  the  first  quarter,  pay- 
able at  the  end  of  that  period. 

10%  of  the  earnings  as  above,  for  the  six  months  (less 
sum  previously  distributed)  payable  as  soon  as  possible 
after  July  1st,  1918. 

EXAMPLE  IF  THE  BONUS  RUNS  TO  JULY  FIRST  ONLY. 

Per  Gross  Previous  Xet 

Earning  Period            Cent;  Earnings  Payments  Earnings 

50x3=$150.                        2V2  "  $3.75  ____  $3.75 

50x6=  300.                      10  30.00  $3.75  26.25 

Making  total  payment  $30. 
PLAN  IF  BONUS  RUNS  TO  JANUARY  FIRST,  1919. 

All  employees  on  the  pay  roll  as  of  January  1st,  1918, 
working  day  work  and  piece  work,  who  continue  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  company  during  the  full  year,  will  receive  an 
extra  10%  on  their  total  earnings,  during  regular  time 
hours  for  the  year,  distributed  as  follows  : 

2%%  of  the  earning  as  above  for  the  first  quarter,  pay- 
able at  the  end  of  that  period.  5%  of  the  earnings  as  above 
for  the  first  6  months  (less  sum  previously  distributed) 
payable  at  the  end  of  that  period.  7%  %  of  the  earnings  as 
above  of  the  first  9  months  (less  sum  previously  distributed) 
payable  at  the  end  of  that  period.  10%  of  the  earnings  as 
above  of  the  year  1918  (less  sums  previously  distributed) 
payable  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

Employees  entering  the  service  of  the  company  between 
the  1st  and  15th  days  of  the  first  month  of  any  quarter,  will 
be  permitted  to  participate  in  extra  payments  commencing 
at  rate  fixed  for  the  first  quarter. 

Employees  entering  the  service  of  the  Company  subse- 
quent to  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  first  month  of  any  quarter 
will  not  be  eligible  to  so  participate  until  the  next  succeed- 
ing quarter. 

Employees  voluntarily  leaving  the  service  of  the  com- 
pany during  the  year  on  account  of  sickness  or  other  un- 
avoidable reasons  will  be  entitled  to  such  extra  payments 
computed  as  above  basis  to  the  time'  of  so  leaving. 

Employees  voluntarily  leaving  the  service  of  the  com- 
pany or  who  are  discharged  for  cause,  forfeit  the  right  to 
any  extra  payments,  not  already  received. 

The  percentages  herein  set  forth  are  calculated  upon  the 
total  actual  earnings  of  the  employee  during  the  periods  in- 
dicated and  are  not  based  upon  the  hourly  rate. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  89 

EXAMPLE  IF  BONUS  RUNS  A  FULL  YEAR. 

Per  Gross  Previous  Net 

Earning  Period            Cent.  Earnings  Payments  Earnings 

50x  3=$150.  2y2  $3.75  $3.75 

50x  6=  300.                        5                          15.00  3.75  11.25 

50x  9=  450.                        7%                      33.75  15.00  18.75 

50x12=  600.                     10                         60.00  33.75  26.25 
Making  the  total  extra  payment  for  year  $60. 

The  majority  of  firms  during  the  war  had  what  was  prac- 
tically some  form  of  bonus  based  on  the  weekly  earnings  and 
given  weekly.  Benefit  associations  where  sick  members  are 
cared  for  are  supported  in  two  ways,  sometimes  wholly  by 
the  members,  sometimes  by  the  members  and  firm.  The 
latter  is  the  general  composition.  The  welfare  work  of 
these  associations  has  been  described  elsewhere  as  well  as 
some  of  the  social  benefits  of  membership.  A  form  which 
is  used  in  plants  doing  big  business  in  peace  times  is  given 
in  sufficient  detail  to  cover  the  general  benefit  systems. 

"The  treasurer  of  the  association  shall  receive  and  hold 
all  moneys  belonging  to  the  Association  and  shall  pay  it  out 
only  upon  orders  signed  by  the  president  and  two  direc- 
tors, all  checks  must  be  signed  by  the  treasurer  and  counter- 
signed by  the  president.  He  shall  deposit  all  moneys  in  the 
name  of  the  Association  in  such  bank  or  banks  as  the  Board 
of  Directors  may  designate.  He  shall  furnish  the  Board 
of  Directors  at  their  meetings  an  account  of  all  moneys  re- 
ceived and  paid  out  and  the  amount  on  hand. 

"The  Board  of  Directors  shall  have  general  supervision  of. 
the  affairs  of  the  Association.  They  shall  have  power  to 
temporarily  suspend  the  payment  of  dues  whenever  in  their 
judgment  such  course  seems  advisable.  The  Board  of  Di- 
rectors shall  have  power  at  such  times  as  in  their  judgment 
it  is  just  and  necessary  to  levy  an  assessment  on  the  Asso- 
ciation to  meet  contingencies  or  excessive  sickness  or  death, 
providing,  however,  that  assessment  shall  not  exceed  50c. 
for  members  of  the  first  class,  and  25c.  for  members  of  the 
second  class,  and  that  such  assessment  shall  not  be  levied 
more  than  twice  in  one  year.  Further  assessment  may  be 
levied  by  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present  at  a 
regular  or  special  meeting. 

"Any  person  in  the  employ  of  the  company  for  four  weeks 
shall  be  eligible  to  membership  in  the  association  upon  ap- 
plication to  the  secretary  and  the  payment  of  50c.  for  mem- 
bers of  the  first  class,  and  25c.  for  members  of  the  second 
class  as  an  admission  fee,  the  application,  however,  to  be 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 


90  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

"Membership  shall  cease  upon  the  resignation,  suspension 
or  expulsion  of  a  member,  upon  his  ceasing  to  be  in  the 
employ  of  the  company,  or  upon  his  neglect  to  pay  his  dues 
for  a  period  of  four  weeks.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  to  cause  the  names  of  persons  coming  within 
any  of  the  above  classes  to  be  erased  from  the  roll  of  mem- 
ship.  Temporary  suspension  from  work  shall  not  be  con- 
sidered as  ceasing  to  be  in  the  employ  of  the  company. 

"The  membership  shall  be  divided  into  two  classes :  First 
class  consisting  of  those  whose  weekly  pay  is  $6.50  or  more 
and  the  second  class,  whose  pay  is  less  than  $6.50. 

"The  dues  of  the  first  class  shall  be  4c.  per  week,  and  the 
second  class,  2c.  per  week. 

For  convenience  the  dues  will  be  deducted  from  the  wages 
of  the  members  of  this  Association  by  the  paymaster  of  the 
company  and  paid  by  said  paymaster  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Association.  The  members  of  the  association  hereby  au- 
thorize the  paymaster  of  said  company  to  deduct  the  dues 
from  their  wages  and  pay  the  same  to  the  secretary  of 
the  Association.  The  payment  of  dues  may  be  temporarily 
suspended  by  the  Board  of  Directors  whenever  in  their 
judgment  the  funds  in  the  treasury  have  reached  an  amount 
sufficient  to  furnish  a  satisfactory  working  capital,  said 
dues  to  be  again  resumed  upon  the  order  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  whenever  in  their  judgment  the  capital  has  fal- 
len below  an  amount  necessary  to  carry  forward  the  work 
of  the  Association. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  visiting  committee  to  visit  all 
'sick  members  and  thoroughly  investigate  each  case;  to  re- 
commend the  payment  of  such  benefits  as  they  find  members 
entitled  to,  and  to  demand  a  doctor's  certificate. 

"Any  member  of  the  Association  unable  to  attend  to  his 
or  her  duties  through  sickness  or  disability  of  said  member, 
provided  such  disability  does  not  arise  through  intem- 
perance or  from  any  immoral  act  on  the  part  of  such  mem- 
ber, shall  receive  a  benefit  during  such  inability  or  sickness 
as  follows :  After  the  first  week's  sickness  or  disability,  the 
sum  of  $1  per  day  except  Sundays,  for  members  of  the  first 
class,  and  50c.  per  day  except  Sundays,  for  members  of  the 
second  class,  said  benefit  to  continue  not  to  exceed  ten  weeks. 
Any  member  whose  sickness  or  disability  extends  over  a 
period  of  not  less  than  30  days  shall  be  paid  for  the  first 
week  also.  Any  member  being  hurt  or  disabled  while  per- 
forming the  ordinary  duties  for  the  Company  shall  re- 
ceive benefits  from  the  time  he  or  she  absents  himself  or 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  91 

herself,  provided  the  sick  committee  report  favorably  on 
his  or  her  condition,  in  no  case  however  to  exceed  10  weeks. 

"If  any  member  entitled  to  benefits,  and  having  drawn 
same  and  returned  to  work,  is  again  taken  sick  in  less  than 
four  weeks,  such  sickness  shall  be  considered  as  a  considera- 
tion of  the  first  sickness,  and  members  shall  only  be  entitled 
to  such  number  of  days  as  added  to  previous  term  of  days 
shall  constitute  ten  weeks. 

"Any  member  having  drawn  benefits  for  the  full  term  of 
ten  weeks  shall  not  be  entitled  to  further  sick  benefits  until 
the  expiration  of  the  year,  dating  from  the  commencement 
of  his  or  her  disability.  In  case  of  disability  caused  by  ac- 
cidents to  members  during  working  hours,  the  aforesaid 
restrictions  will  not  apply. 

"No  member  shall  be  exempted  from  the  payment  of  dues 
on  account  of  sickness  or  disability,  but  must  pay  the 
amount  of  his  or  her  dues  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Associa- 
tion or  the  amount  may  be  deducted  from  the  sick  benefits. 
Any  member  having  drawn  benefits  for  the  full  term  of  ten 
weeks  and  being  unable  to  perform  the  ordinary  work 
for  a  further  term  of  ten  weeks,  shall,  provided  they  have 
not  during  that  period  worked  for  any  other  firm,  corpora- 
tion or  individual,  be  considered  in  good  standing  and  en- 
titled to  the  funeral  benefits  of  the  association.  Any  ar- 
rears of  dues  for  this  period  to  be  deducted  from  said 
benefit. 

"All  sick  or  disabled  members  shall  within  four  days  noti- 
fy the  secretary  in  writing  or  by  mail,  so  as  to  receive  their 
benefits  commencing  one  week  from  time  of  sickness.  If 
they  fail  to  report  within  this  time  his  or  her  benefits  shall 
commence  one  week  from  the  time  such  report  is  received. 
In  any  case  where  the  board  of  directors  shall  have  reason- 
able doubt  as  to  the  validity  of  any  sick  or  accident  claim 
made  upon  the  Association,  they  shall  be  empowered  to  en- 
gage a  doctor  to  make  a  careful  medical  examination  of  the 
case  and  report  his  findings  to  the  board.  The  cost  of  said 
examination  to  be  paid  by  the  Association.  Any  member 
receiving  benefits  must  sign  a  receipt  for  the  amount  and 
such  receipt  must  be  returned  to  the  secretary  and  kept  as 
a  record. 

"On  the  death  of  a  member  in  good  standing,  a  funeral 
benefit  shall  be  paid  to  his  family  of  $50  for  a  member  of 
the  first  class  and  $25  for  a  member  of  the  second  class. 

"If  a  member's  salary  during  the  period  of  his  illness  or 
disability  is  paid  by  the  company,  that  member  shall  not  be 


92  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

entitled  to  sick  benefits  from  the  Association,  but  in  case  of 
his  death,  his  heirs  shall  be  entitled  to  the  usual  funeral 
benefit. 

"Anyone  detected  in  taking  or  attempting  to  take  the  bene- 
fits fraudulently  shall  be  expelled  from  the  Association. 

"A  quarterly  statement  of  the  financial  condition  of  the 
association  shall  be  posted  in  the  key  room  of  each  factory 
in  January,  April,  July  and  October  of  each  year." 

The  best  profit-sharing  plan  in  the  state  to  the  investi- 
gator's knowledge  is  submitted  with  the  statement  that  in 
the  time  since  its  adoption  in  February,  1917  to  date — nearly 
two  years — it  has  worked  well  and  harmoniously : 

"This  plan  is  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  company's  growth  in  the  good  will  of  the 
public,  as  well  as  its  financial  success,  is  the  result  of  loyal 
and  faithful  services  on  the  part  of  the  employees. 

"It  is  also  intended  to  encourage  thrift  and  saving  on  the 
part  of  employees,  and  to  provide  a  fund  in  case  of  dis- 
ability or  death. 

"It  should  be  understood  that  this  is  a  profit-sharing  plan, 
and  is  no  part  of  wages  or  salaries  of  an  employee,  but  is 
given  as  an  encouragement  and  incentive  for  better  ser- 
vice. 

"Each  employee  will  be  encouraged  to  seek  promotion, 
which  will  come  in  recognition  of  more  efficient  service, 
and  the  increased  wage  or  salary  will  bring  an  increased 
share  in  the  bonus. 

"In  February,  1917,  the  company  will  pay  over  to  five 
trustees,  to  be  named  by  the  directors,  20%  of  the  final  net 
surplus  of  the  fiscal  year  1916,  after  providing  for  annual 
amortization  and  dividends. 

"This  fund  will  be  deposited  by  the  trustees  with  a  trust 
company,  and  an  account  opened  to  the  credit  of  each  em- 
ployee who  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  company  two  full 
years  or  more  prior  to  January  1,  1917. 

"The  amount  paid  annually  by  the  company  to  the  trus- 
tees will  be  divided  among  the  employees  on  the  basis  of 
length  of  employment.  Those  who  have  been  in  the  com- 
pany's service  continuously  during  two  years  or  more  will, 
for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1916,  constitute  groups 
as  follows: 

Group  1 — 5  full  years  or  more 

2 — 3  full  years  but  less  than  5 
3—2  full  years  but  less  than  3 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  93 

The  apportionment  to  be 

5  parts  to  Group  No.  1 
3  parts  to  Group  No.  2 
2  parts  to  Group  No.  3 

EMPLOYEES'  SAVINGS. 

To  enable  employees  to  add  to  the  company's  contribu- 
tions from  their  own  savings,  employees  may  subscribe  to 
the  stock  of  the  company  an  additional  amount,  not  exceed- 
ing their  bonus,  Deductions  from  salaries  will  be  made 
weekly  or  monthly  in  such  even  amounts  as  the  employees 
may  elect. 

"Interest  at  the  rate  of  5%  will  be  credited  to  each  em- 
ployee annually  on  the  total  amount  to  his  credit. 

INVESTMENT. 

"As  soon  as  the  deposits  of  any  employee  reach  a  sufficient 
iimount,  the  trustees  wi!J  invest  it  in  common  stock  pi  the 
company.  The  usual  stock  certificate  will  be  issued  in  the 
name  of  the  employee,  and  delivered  to  him. 

"For  the  calculation  of  the  year  1916,  the  price  at  which 
stock  will  be  allotted  will  be  at  par. 

DIVIDENDS  AND  BONUS. 

"The  stock  so  held  by  an  employee  will  earn  the  regular 
dividend  declared  quarterly  by  the  directors  of  the  com- 
pany for  all  its  common  stock,  and  treasurer's  dividend 
checks  issued  to  each  holder. 

"To  induce  employees  to  retain  the  stock  so  acquired  as  a 
fund  to  be  used  in  case  of  disability  or  retirement  on  ac- 
count of  age,  the  company  will  deposit  to  the  credit  of  each 
employee  who  holds  such  common  stock  on  December  31, 
19  J  7,  an  extra  bonus  equal  to  the  regular  cash  dividends 
paid  to  him  during  the  year,  on  stock  acquired  under  this 
plan. 

"This  bonus  will  be  forfeited  by  the  sale  of  stock  or  by 
the  resignation  or  discharge  of  an  employee  within  three 
months  of  the  time  of  the  granting  of  the  bonus. 

"In  case  of  the  death  of  an  employee,  the  full  amount 
then  standing  to  his  credit,  uninvested,  will  be  paid  to  his 
estate  or  beneficiary  by  the  trustee. 

"In  case  of  the  resignation  or  discharge  of  an  employee, 
said  p/npJoyee  will  forfeit  all  right  to  the  contribution  of 
the  company,  and  extra  dividend  bonus  on  such  common 
stock  as  he  may  hold. 


94  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

"He  may  however,  withdraw  all  other  sums  standing  to 
his  credit,  after  three  months'  notice  to  the  trustee. 

"The  amounts  deposited  by  an  employee  to  his  credit, 
which  have  not  been  invested,  may  upon  application  to,  and 
with  the  approval  of  the  trustee,  be  withdrawn. 

"The  company's  contributions  are  purely  voluntary,  and 
based  upon  the  full  calendar  year  of  employment. 

"The  trustees  shall  have  full  power  to  determine  invest- 
ments, withdrawals  and  all  other  questions  arising  in  the 
application  of  this  plan,  and  their  decisions  shall  be  final 
to  determine  the  rights  of  any  employee  hereunder." 

Despite  all  these  provisions  and  the  great  increase  in 
wages,  there  was  much  labor  turnover  in  the  state  and 
much  loss  of  time  which  resulted  in  loss  of  production  for 
the  manufacturer  and  loss  of  wages  for  the  workers.  The 
latter  were  in  a  measure  responsible  for  this,  as  where  men 
and  women  received  high  wages  they  did  not  work  all  the 
week,  some  months,  or  some  weeks,  either  for  that  matter. 
Some  would  stop  for  a  day  or  two  and  enjoy  themselves. 

The  loss  of  wages  by  breaks  in  the  hours  worked,  by 
sickness  and  by  accidents  resulting  in  the  ceasing  of  labor 
for  several  days  or  weeks  and  by  strikes  and  walkouts  not 
lasting  long  enough  to  amount  to  strikes  amounts  to  mil- 
lions. 

Of  all  plans  presented  to  offset  it,  the  profit-sharing  has 
been  most  successful. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  95 


LUNCH  ROOMS. 

It  has  been  pretty  well  demonstrated  that  whatever  a  man 
can  do  without  books  he  cannot  do  without  cooks.  Some- 
thing to  eat  is  a  necessity  and  something  nourishing  and 
inexpensive  is  a  blessing  to  the  worker  of  today.  So  much 
energy  is  consumed  and  men  live  with  such  intentness  that 
the  relaxation  of  the  lunch  hour,  even  without  food, 
is  a  relief. 

The  lunch  rooms  in  factories  are  one  of  the  best  invest- 
ments in  the  return  of  increased  health,  satisfaction  and 
appreciation.  Of  course,  there  are  always  many  who  go 
home  at  the  lunch  hour,  even  if  they  have  to  use  the  cars 
to  do  so.  Un'doubtedly  if  they  had  a  nourishing  and  tasty 
menu  at  a  low  cost  they  would  not  do  so,  no  matter  how 
much  they  like  to  be  with  their  families.  Those  who  live 
near  go  home  as  a  matter  of  course  but  there  are  hundreds 
who  have  to  bring  their  lunches  with  them  when  they  leave 
home  between  6  and  7  in  the  morning.  These  cold  lunches 
are  good  enough  but  they  are  not  especially  appealing  ex- 
cept to  real  hunger.  They  are  likely  to  be  made  up  of  a 
variety  of  remnants  of  the  meals  of  the  previous  day.  Many 
of  them  are  actually  put  up  over  night.  In  many  cases  the 
coffee  is  made  the  night  before  and  warmed  up  for  break- 
fast and  the  remainder  put  in  the  lunch  bottle.  Many  who 
carried  their  lunch  boxes  in  the  pre-war  days  when  food 
was  reasonably  abundant  used  to  throw  away  a  deal  of  it 
rather  than  bring  it  back.  In  the  war  days  they  carried 
the  surplus  home  and  it  was  eaten  by  the  children.  It  oc- 
curs more  often  than  would  be  thought  possible  for  many 
men  to  have  to  prepare  not  only  their  own  lunches  but 
their  breakfasts  also.  The  lunch  generally  consists  of  a 
sandwich  with  either  cold  meat,  ham  from  the  delicatessen 
store  or  egg  between  the  bread,  some  cake  or  pie  and  the 
coffee.  This  was  the  actual  experience  of  a  young  man  who 
worked  in  a  large  ship  building  concern.  His  wife  never 
thought  of  getting  a  nourishing  breakfast  or  preparing  a 
tasty  lunch  for  him. 

Arriving  at  the  factory  the  lunch  box  is  stowed  away 
somewhere  until  noon,  when  the  owner  sits  on  a  board  like 
the  rest  of  his  fellow  workers,  or  lies  outside  on  the  earth 
or  grass,  if  there  be  any,  consumes  the  lunch  as  expedi- 


96  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

tiously  as  he  can  and  then  gets  out  his  pipe  or  cigarette. 
Sometimes  the  men  sit  around  in  the  room  in  which  they 
have  been  working,  getting  no  change  of  air.  If  they  have 
time  after  swallowing  their  lunches  and  there  is  a  "cafe" 
near,  they  are  almost  certain  to  patronize  it  to  some  extent. 
This  is  the  routine  that  is  followed  in  many  factories  today 

But  the  managers  are  coming  to  realize  that  in  order  to 
have  the  best  results  in  production  the  men  should  receive 
the  chance  to  change  from  the  room  in  which  they  have  been 
working  and  to  have  the  proper  proportion  of  protein,  car- 
bohydrates and  fat  in  their  food  to  insure  the  upkeep  of 
the  body.  They  probably  do  not  divide  up  the  food  ac- 
cording to  its  chemical  properties  when  they  are  thinking 
of  it,  but  they  sum  it  up  in  the  thought  that  a  good  square 
meal  is  a  need  that  ought  to  be  filled.  They  understand 
that  it  is  just  as  needful  to  repair  the  wastes  of  the  body 
as  it  is  to  supply  good  wearing  parts  in  a  machine. 

Demands  of  labor  betterment  condition  include  rest  and 
emergency  rooms  but  rarely  insist  on  the  dining  or  lunch 
room  in  the  factory.  This  is  an  essential  need  even  if  it  is 
run  at  a  loss  as  far  as  money  is  concerned,  although  in  pass- 
sing  it  can  be  stated  that  none  of  those  in  operation  get 
much  below  the  actual  cost  and  some  break  even.  But  it 
is  a  business  measure.  It  is  a  great  deal  better  to  spend 
money  in  taking  care  of  the  bodies  of  the  workers  in  the 
plants  than  to  devote  it  to  paying  experts  to  study  the  re- 
lation between  fatigue  and  efficiency;  to  stoke  up  the  ma- 
chine so  it  will  be  able  to  resist  fatigue.  * 

Lunches  were  served  in  factories  and  shops  to  foremen 
and  olfice  help  long  before  it  was  thought  well  to  extend  the 
service  to  workers  in  the  main  body.  This  procedure  never 
failed  to  excite  adverse  criticism  among  the  latter.  It  is 
easier  to  get  200  office  employees  than  it  is  to  obtain  20 
factory  workers. 

To  have  full  value  the  lunch  or  dinner,  whether  at  home 
or  in  the  shop,  should  be  properly  proportioned.  That 
is  why  a  lunch  served  in  a  factory  dining  room  or  cafeteria 
when  it  is  made  up  according  to  food  properties  is  more 
satisfying  and  gives  better  nourishment  than  a  hastily 
scrambled  together  collection  of  food  ends  or  even 
the  inevitable  slice  of  bread  and  meat  that  goes  into  the 
lunch  box  at  home.  The  body  is  really  a  furnace  that  must 
be  supplied  with  fuel.  If  the  eater  does  not  know  how  to 
get  the  best  results,  someone  must  prepare  the  food  for  him. 

Many  are  seen  who  devour  enormous  quantities  of  food 
and  yet  are  more  unnourished  than  the  neighbor  alongside 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  97 

who  does  not  eat  a  third  as  much.  The  average  person, 
whatever  his  position,  does  not  know  how  to  compound  the 
properties  of  his  food.  That  is  why  there  is  so  much  atten- 
tion paid  to  dietetics.  A  factory  or  shop  which  furnishes 
meals  to  its  help  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  it  in  good  con- 
dition must  have  the  food  proportioned  to  give  the  proper 
quantities  of  nutrition.  If  it  cannot  afford  a  dietitian  to  pre- 
pare it,  or  has  no  trained  nurse  who  should  get  out  the  menu 
for  each  day,  a  daily  list  of  what  food  to  have  can  be  readily 
obtained  from  any  home  economics  institution. 

Where  an  industry  furnishes  coffee,  tea,  cocoa  or  milk  to 
its  help,  its  task  is  light;  where  it  merely  permits  the  use 
of  gas  and  electricity  for  the  making  of  these  beverages,  it 
is  lighter  still  and  of  less  real  value,  being  merely  an  aid 
to  digestion.  Where  it  furnishes  a  well  balanced  meal, 
the  worth  in  dollars  to  employee  and  employer  does  not  need 
much  explanation.  Many  places  have  small  rooms,  run  on 
the  counter  plan,  where  the  food  is  served  to  them  or  they 
select  it  themselves.  Usually  these  have  the  cooking  oper- 
ations in  full  sight.  Under  the  counters  is  stored  the  food 
that  is  to  be  served  and  milk.  Sometimes  the  company 
leases  this  sort  of  a  place  to  someone  who  makes  a  good 
profit  on  it,  sometimes  the  company  runs  it  itself.  Often 
this  lunch  counter  is  found  in  foundries  and  other  places 
where  greasy  work  is  done  and  the  men  think  they  are  not 
dressed  enough  to  go  outside  and  sit  at  tables.  The  counter 
lunch  has  its  good  points,  but  the  factory  that  has  a  room 
where  tables  are  set,  around  which  the  men  can  sit,  and 
having  eaten,  read,  smoke  or  play  cards  has  a  stronger  hold 
on  human  nature.  The  best  returns  are  found  from  the 
rooms  having  tables,  windows  and  some  attractive  setting. 
A  number  have  the  tables  set  on  the  long  banquet  line  plan, 
running  down  the  center  of  the  room  and  seating  anywhere 
from  30  to  50  on  each  side  in  close  quarters.  These  tables 
are  covered  with  oil  cloth  in  some  places,  and  in  others  are 
left  bare  and  scrubbed  off  daily.  The  disadvantage  of  the 
long  tables  is  there  is  not  enough  feeling  of  ease  and  re- 
laxation, nor  the  space  in  which  to  lounge  comfortably  af- 
ter the  meal. 

The  big  silk  plants  of  the  state,  Cheney  Bros.,  Blumen- 
thal  Co.  and  Hemingway  were  about  the  first  to  have  lunch 
rooms.  The  pictured  lunch  room  of  the  Blumenthal  Co. 
shows  the  men's  section.  They  are  seated  around  tables 
playing  cards  after  having  eaten  their  lunch.  The  women's 
section  is  more  attractive  than  this. 


98  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

The  tables  which  permit  men  or  women  to  form  their 
own  group  of  associates  around  which  they  can  sit  and  lin- 
ger during  the  balance  of  the  noon  hour  are  the  only  ones 
which  should  be  installed  where  lunch  rooms  are  being 
made.  The  tops  should  be  of  vitrolite  which  looks  well  and 
is  easily  kept  clean. 

It  sounds  a  bit  formidable  to  lay  down  rules  as  to  the 
ingredients  of  factory  lunches,  the  general  idea  being  that 
a  cup  of  coffee,  a  sandwich  and  a  piece  of  pie  constitute  a 
sufficient  meal  and  can  be  set  down  before  a  hungry  worker 
at  little  effort  and  time.  The  process  of  getting  a  nutri- 
tious meal  is  not  difficult.  It  is  simple  and  should  be  based 
in  reference  to  the  amount  of  good  the  person  fed  is  to  re- 
ceive. Since  the  era  of  high  prices  it  is  true  that  people 
have  cut  their  living  expenses  as  much  as  they  could,  even 
doing  this  about  food  when  they  are  reckless  in  other  direc- 
tions. Any  factory  manager  having  a  restaurant  that  is 
directed  by  an  intelligent  person  can  easily  discover  and 
many  of  them  have  already  discovered  the  noon  day  meal 
served  is  the  one  which  is  really  the  mainstay  of  the  work- 
er. It  is  better  proportioned  than  anything  he  would  buy 
for  his  home  and  he  can  enjoy  it  under  absolutely  harmo- 
nious circumstances.  It  is  a  psychological  as  well  as  physical 
fact  that  food  eaten  with  a  tranquil  mind  is  sure  to  give  the 
system  benefit.  Few  home  dinner  tables  but  have  some 
thought  introduced  about  the  price  of  the  food  or  the  dis- 
cussion of  some  matter  not  wholly  pleasant. 

In  the  state,  38  firms  or  large  size  are  furnishing  lunches, 
and  possibly  more  since  the  establishments  were  visited, 
as  several  were  then  contemplating  such  additions.  A  num- 
ber served  coffee  and  tea.  Others  permitted  the  use  of  kitch- 
en arrangements  where  the  workers  could  make  these 
drinks,  bringing  in  the  material.  Others  had  dining  rooms 
for  the  office  force  and  some  for  the  foremen.  These  are  not 
counted  in  enumerating  the  establishments  having  lunches. 
In  no  plant  is  the  lunch  served  free.  It  is,  however,  given 
at  cost.  In  1918  a  man  could  have  in  several  of  these  places 
a  nourishing  and  well  planned  meal  of  soup  or  stew,  one 
meat  other  than  in  the  latter  if  it  were  chosen,  bread,  but- 
ter, coffee,  milk  or  cocoa,  and  cake  or  pie  for  25  and  30c.  Of 
course  he  could  order  what  he  wanted  and  pay  as  much  as 
he  liked.  A  sustaining  lunch  could  be  obtained  from  20  to 
25c.  by  women. 

There  is  absolutely  no  profit  in  the  line  of  money  being 
earned  by  the  company  or  turned  in  by  running  the  lunch 
rooms.  That  some  of  them  are  carried  on  at  a  loss  has  been 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  99 

shown.  The  better  the  grade  of  food  and  the  way  in  which 
the  room  is  equipped,  the  more  cost  to  the  company  in 
money.  But  it  pays  in  greater  efficiency,  in  assurance  that 
the  help  is  getting  fed  and  in  a  better  frame  of  mind  among 
the  workers  due  to  the  social  intercourse.  Many  people  who 
work  in  factories  and  other  kinds  of  business  for  that  mat- 
ter, go  without  a  lunch  at  noon  for  reasons  of  economy.  The 
practice  is  more  common  among  women  than  men  and  after 
awhile  the  women  are  sure  to  show  the  effects  of  such  ab- 
stention. They  do  not  mind  it  if  they  have  saved  up  some 
money  toward  a  desired  end.  Some  of  them  do  not  skip 
the  meal  because  of  economy.  They  do  it  because  there 
is  no  place  near  where  they  want  to  eat  and  because  they  do 
not  desire  to  carry  a  lunch  and  cannot  get  a  lunch  if  they  are 
rooming. 

If  the  war  had  continued  there  would  have  been  increase 
in  the  lunch  rooms  and  the  practice  of  giving  food  to  work- 
ers between  the  meal  hours  would  have  been  introduced.  It 
was  found  most  effective  in  England  and  France.  The  war 
is  over,  but  industrial  work  will  go  on  even  if  somewhat  les- 
sened in  certain  directions.  In  fact,  it  will  extend  in  others. 
It  will  be  just  as  essential  and  even  more  so,  to  make  provi- 
sions for  factory  workers  in  this  line.  More  so,  because  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  men  and  women  have  cut  down  on 
their  food  ratio  to  a  degree  that  has  decreased  their  general 
strength,  even  if  they  have  not  perceived  it. 

The  changes  that  have  come  lead  to  some  relaxation  of  the 
welfare  work.  That  is  where  the  danger  lies.  Some  work, 
especially  the  feeding  part  of  it,  should  be  extended.  It  is 
a  good  proceeding  for  capital  and  for  labor.  There  is  no 
touch  of  philanthropy  about  it.  It  is  business. 


100  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


THE  HIGH  COST  OF  LIVING. 

The  high  cost  of  living  is  not  only  in  the  price  paid  out 
but  in  the  effect  on  the  bodies  and  minds  of  the  people  of 
this  country  whether  in  or  out  of  the  state,  whether  working 
or  at  leisure.  It  appears  to  have  reached  its  acme.  That 
there  will  be  a  sudden  or  even  moderately  quick  descent  is 
hardly  likely  to  be  realized  this  year  unless  there  is  some 
vigorous  action  taken  by  the  national  government.  On  the 
contrary,  commodities  which  might  be  supposed  to  be  free 
from  sudden  jumps  are  going  skyward  now.  Coffee,  a 
beverage  nearly  everyone  has  to  drink  and  which  might 
help  to  assuage  the  thirst  of  a  prohibitionized  country  is 
going  to  be  hard  to  obtain  at  any  price,  and,  particularly, 
will  show  increase  in  price.  The  singular  manner  in  which 
dealers  learn  of  anticipated  jumps  in  prices  and  the  slowness 
with  which  the  news  of  reduction  reaches  them  are  illus- 
trated by  an  incident  which  occurred  in  October,  1918.  At 
that  time  it  was  stated  in  the  papers  the  government  in- 
tended to  tax  teas  and  coffees.  The  statement  was  printed 
broadcast.  Immediately  that  part  of  our  population  in 
which  the  Polish  and  Italian  element  is  strong  prepared  in 
a  certain  town  to  take  time  by  the  forelock.  The  grasp  was 
so  strong  and  effectual  that  the  manager  of  a  big  store  was 
aroused  when  customer  after  customer  of  Polish  origin  came 
in  and  bought  coffee  in  quantities  ranging  from  50  to  100 
pounds  to  ask  some  one  "What's  up?"  He  was  informed 
of  the  rumor  which  was  the  first  he  had  heard  of  the  in- 
tended taxation.  In  another  store  a  customer  who  knew 
nothing  about  the  taxing  of  her  favorite  drink  asked  for 
five  pounds  of  tea.  She  lived  out  in  the  country  and  usual- 
ly bought  it  somewhat  in  bulk.  She  was  informed  that 
grade  was  going  up  lOc.  per  pound.  Naturally  asking  why, 
she  was  told  of  the  taxation  coming..  This  happened  in 
October,  1918.  It  was  a  clear  case  of  profiteering. 

Before  going  into  detail  concerning  the  high  cost  of  liv- 
ing as  affecting  the  industrial  workers,  a  little  space  may 
be,  and  ought  in  justice,  to  be  devoted  to  this  soaring  in  refe- 
rence to  a  class  which  it  affects  considerably  and  which  has 
never  received  any  consideration  from  the  public.  This  is  the 
middle  class  composed  of  salaried  workers,  office  employees, 
draughtsmen,  accountants,  in  short  the  sort  of  people  whose 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.' :  ;  ;*\  101 

position  requires  a  certain  standard  of  living  and  housing 
and  whose  wages  do  not  advance  in  proportion  to  the  rise 
in  price  of  fuel,  food  and  clothing.  Since  1916  the  advance 
in  salary  of  this  class  of  men  and  women  has  not  been  20% 
on  the  average.  True,  there  are  many  exceptional  cases 
where  in  war  emergency  and  the  demands  for  increased 
numbers  of  clerks  and  stenographers,  wages  have  been 
raised  anywhere  from  25  to  35%  in  individual  instances. 
This  rise,  however,  is  not  permanent  nor  general.  Nor,  it  is 
safe  to  say,  does  it  affect  people  who  are  likely  to  use  it  in 
the  way  of  saving  or  a  provision  for  the  future.  Many  of 
the  recipients  of  the  increase  adopted  a  style  of  living  and 
clothing  which  consumed  the  extra  allowance  and  left  them 
at  the  end  of  the  period  no  better  off  than  before  they  re- 
ceived more  pay.  The  larger  number,  however,  had  no  choice 
about  spending  the  increase.  It  was  an  absolute  necessity 
that  every  dollar  they  earned  went  at  once  to  the  butcher 
and  baker,  in  a  smaller  degree  for  clothing  and  other  ne- 
cessities, to  say  nothing  of  the  rent.  Summing  it  up,  the 
middle  class  really  has  suffered  and  still  suffers  more  from 
the  advance  in  the  necessities  of  life  than  has  or  does  any 
other  set  of  workers. 

The  year  1919  does  not  open  promisingly  for  this  very 
necessary  part  of  the  business  world.  It  has  been  a  general 
practice  as  quickly  as  actual  or  forecasted  business  depres- 
sion is  considered  to  begin  retrenchment  with  the  salaried 
list,  even  if  the  cutting  down  of  expense  does  not  start  at 
once,  in  wage  lowering,  there  is  decreasing  of  employees. 

The  number  deprived  of  employment  cannot  obtain  it  as 
quickly  as  unskilled  labor  or  unionized  labor,  and  pride  does 
not  permit  going  into  the  former  sort  of  work.  The  con- 
sequence is  that  many  families  having  such  members  are 
obliged  to  support  them  until  they  secure  the  positions  they 
are  able  to  fill.  Apart  from  this  there  is  manifest  injustice 
in  having  a  large  and  most  effective  class  of  workers  of  the 
state  kept  at  about  the  same  wage  standard  year  after  year, 
no  matter  what  additional  burden  is  placed  upon  them.  The 
years  of  1916-1917-1918  saw  the  work  of  every  office  force 
increased  to  an  extent  that  is  not  to  be  measured  by  figures. 
It  mounted  up  so  that  more  employees  had  to  be  engaged  in 
some  concerns  and  in  others  a  force  of  the  regular  employees 
was  detailed  to  just  take  care  of  the  additional  work  caused 
by  the  questionnaires  sent  out  relating  to  war  matters. 

The  employees  who  were  young  and  could  find  other 
places  "kicked"  and  received  some  increase  of  compensation. 
Not  as  large  in  proportion  as  that  gained  by  the  machinist 


102  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

or  the  laborer  who  made  a  demand.  The  older  ones  who 
were  held  back  by  families  and  knew  they  would  have  some 
difficulty  in  securing  places  which  would  be  permanent  suf- 
fered in  silence. 

Statisticians  have  been  kept  busy  compiling  figures  as  to 
the  cost  of  living  for  the  past  few  years.  Some  sets  showed 
that  it  was  not  as  great  as  imagined  and  others  showed  what 
it  was  in  the  wholesale  line.  Others  devoted  long  columns  to 
comparisons  with  previous  rises  and  deductions  concerning 
the  causes.  No  one  seemed  to  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  by 
declaring  that  while  some  increase  in  the  prices  of  food  and 
fuel  was  inevitable  on  account  of  the  demands  of  the  Eu- 
ropean nations,  and  the  freight  and  other  difficulties,  there 
was  absolutely  no  excuse  for  the  outrageous  prices  that  af- 
flicted the  country  during  the  year  1918  and  which  seem 
likely  to  remain  an  affliction  for  some  time. 

The  winter  of  1917-1918  was  the  hardest  on  the  people 
of  the  country  that  America  has  ever  known.  Losing  such 
calorics  through  voluntary  patriotic  reduction  in  food  con- 
sumption they  were  suffering  from  lack  of  heat  in  work- 
shops, factories  and  homes.  The  winter  of  1918-1919  thus 
far  has  been  mild  but  there  still  exists  the  high  price  of 
fuel,  both  coal  and  wood.  The  investigator  while  writing 
this  looked  out  to  see  if  the  sight  which  has  been  presented 
every  day  would  be  visible,  that  of  two  children  carrying 
bags  of  coal  to  their  home.  They  are  not  the  only  two  thus 
engaged.  With  food,  clothing,  fuel,  light,  and  rent  still  at 
prices  bearing  no  relation  to  what  it  should  be;  with  chil- 
dren going  without  sufficient  milk,  with  people  paying  out 
high  prices  for  food  and  then  receiving  minute  proportions, 
with  mothers  scrimping  on  butter  and  eggs,  meat  and 
vegetables,  it  is  not  pessimistic  to  wonder  a  little  why  with 
all  the  conferences  gathered  together  and  the  officers  created 
to  fill  commissions  that  grow  like  mushrooms  or  toad-stools, 
the  question  of  getting  food  in  abundance  and  at  reasonable 
price  does  not  enter  into  reconstruction  and  betterment 
schemes. 

It  is  stated  that  the  rise  in  wages  has  been  so  great  that 
the  rise  in  the  cost  of  living  was  not  so  excessive.  In  con- 
nection with  this  the  rise  in  wages  did  not  affect  everyone, 
and  the  rise  in  the  price  of  living  was  at  all  times  far  ahead 
of  the  other.  Statistics  appeal  to  many.  Therefore,  it 
can  be  taken  for  granted  the  rise  in  the  cost  of  living  was 
between  55%  and  60%  on  an  average.  In  some  communities 
even  more.  The  rise  in  wages  averaged  about  41%  in  its 
most  lofty  ascent.  Of  course  in  some  localities  with  some 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  103 

occupations,  it  was  more.  One  or  two  reports  received  by 
the  industrial  investigator  show  it 'was  as  much  as  100%. 
That  was  because  the  wage  previous  to  that  was  really  low. 
Here  is  a  list  of  the  wages  and  occupations  taken  from  one 
concern,  one  which  was  only  partly  engaged  in  war  work 
and  which  represents  a  steady  going  and  not  greatly  fluc- 
tuating industry.  This  list  was  furnished  the  latter  part  of 
1917: 

CLASSIFICATION    OF    EMPLOYEES    ACCOEDING    TO    TRADE    OR 
KIND  OF  EMPLOYMENT. 

No.  Trade  Av.  Daily  Wage 

15  Shop    clerks $2.75 

20  Foremen    v  . 5.00 

34  Shop   helpers    .' 2.45 

2  Firemen    3.50 

3  Sweepers     2.75 

1  Janitor    3.00 

1  Night  watchman 3.50 

1  Nurse    3.00 

29  Inspectors    t. .  2.10 

5  Brushers    1.65 

17  Solderers 2.25 

1  Japanner    2.90 

Machine   hands 2.90 

3  Draughtsmen 4.10 

5  Lab.   assistants    3.20 

2  Mixers     3.65 

32  Molders     3.20 

10  Pressmen   t. 3.00 

15  Assemblers    2.20 

3  Packers    3.00 

11  Trimmers    2.75 

1  Wireman     3.80 

2  Filers    2.10 

19  Wirers    1.75 

7  Labelers  2.20 

4  Carpenters    3.65 

1  Engineer    4.50 

8  Drillers    2.10 

6  Punch  Press  hands    2.50 

1  Riveter    2.25 

4  Foreladies    2.85 

12  Fillers    2.00 

4  Drill  Press  hands   2.75 

11  Toolmakers   4.50 

6  Machinists t.  .,  4.00 

1  Lathe  hands 3.65 

3  Steam   fitters    3.50 

The  wages  detailed  were  advanced  in  1918,  computing  the 
successive  raises  made,  about  30%.  The  cost  of  living  in 
that  locality  rose  to  47%.  It  is  easy  to  figure  the  ratio 
between  expense  and  receipts.  This  represents  pretty  ac- 


104  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

curately  the  general  condition.  Averaging  is  not  resorted 
to  here  because  though  it  is  needful  in  the  statistical  line  to 
give  averages,  the  investigator  believes  they  are  not  just 
to  individual  instances. 

The  people  do  not  care  much  for  comparisons  of  prices. 
What  they  are  interested  in,  is  the  price  they  are  paying  to- 
day. Certainly  they  make  the  comparison  of  the  rise  in 
cost  in  all  items  in  reference  to  the  rise  in  wages.  Besides, 
the  rise  in  price  affects  more  than  the  wage  earning  and 
salaried  class.  It  affects  a  large  number  entitled  to  some 
consideration  who  are  living  on  incomes  shrunken  to  a 
twentieth  of  their  size  five  or  six  years  ago;  who  are  suf- 
fering from  government  experiments  in  lowering  railroad 
values ;  widows  and  orphans  of  men,  not  all  of  them  capita- 
lists, who  thought  they  were  insuring  their  families  com- 
parative comfort  by  investing  in  railroad  and  other  stocks, 
and  by  buying  property  whose  rental  would  be  an  assured 
income.  Now  these  people  have  to  consider  that  the  coming 
years  are  to  bring  them  such  increased  taxation  in  order 
that  the  government  may  have  a  revenue,  in  order  that  the 
state  may  have  a  revenue  to  replace  that  removed  or  eli- 
minated, that  the  cost  of  living  is  going  to  be  a  hard  problem 
for  them. 

Clothing  and  its  material  has  advanced  anywhere  from 
75%  to  100%  and  160%.  Rent  from  15  to  50%,  fuel  from 
20  to  45%,  in  some  localities  more.  In  the  case  of  the 
families  who  buy  coal  by  the  bag,  45%  does  not  cover  the 
increase.  Food  may  be  said  to  have  made  an  almost  uni- 
form advance  of  60%.  The  various  sundries  which  go  to 
make  up  a  family  budget,  such  as  reading,  medicine,  little 
extraordinary  expenses,  doctors,  dentists,  etc.,  are  not  esti- 
mated at  all. 

The  one  item  of  amusement,  such  as  theatre,  is  taxed 
outrageously,  so  that  it  looks  as  if  people  would  have  to 
amuse  themselves  by  staying  home  and  planning  how  to 
live  sans  everything. 

January  15th,  1919,  bargain  prices  for  pork  roast  in  the 
state  were  32c.  a  pound ;  leg  of  mutton,  30c. ;  legs  of  veal, 
28c. ;  lamb,  38c. ;  forequarters,  30c. ;  Boston  rolled  roasts  of 
beef,  30c. ;  shoulder  roasts,  28. ;  pot  roasts  26. ;  corned  beef, 
25c. ;  fresh  pork  shoulder,  32c. ;  porterhouse  steak,  70c. ; 
round,  30  to  38c. ;  sirloin  and  short,  38  to  45c. ;  beef  liver,  12 
to  18c. ;  potatoes  45  to  50c.  per  peck;  eggs,  85  to  90c.  per 
dozen,  "strictly  fresh  laid,  native;"  storage  eggs,  58c  a 
dozen;  bacon,  38c.  per  pound  a  strip;  good  flour,  $1.40  to 
$1.60  per  bag,  a  great  reduction;  sweet  potatoes,  15c.  a 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  105 

quart;  condensed  milk  from  13  to  18c.  a  can;  coffee  32  to 
38c. ;  cabbage,  3c.  a  pound ;  cauliflower,  25c.  to  40c.  a  head ; 
string  beans  30c.  a  quart ;  oranges,  50  to  90c.  a  dozen :  tur- 
nips, 5c.  a  pound ;  butter  66  to  75c.  a  pound,  onions,  3  to  4c 
a  pound;  grapefruit,  10  to  15c.  apiece;  carrots  4  to  5c.  a 
pound;  apples,  75c.  to  $1  a  peck  for  eating,  and  50c.  for 
cooking;  cheese,  a  great  food  with  many,  not  fancy  varie- 
ties, 45  to  50c. 

This  is  a  fair  allotment  from  which  to  pick  out  a  sub- 
stantial meal.  It  is  also  on  the  whole  a  lowering  of  prices. 
One  item  most  essential,  particularly  to  children,  does  not 
appear  on  the  list,  and  is  not  in  the  reduced  column — that 
of  milk.  The  truth  should  be  emphasized  that  during  the 
epidemic,  which  has  by  no  means  become  a  thing  of  the  past, 
many  children  were  underfed  and  undernourished  and  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  resisting  vitality  through  the  cutting  down 
of  their  milk  supply.  The  same  thing  applies  to  adults  who 
left  off  milk  and  took  to  other  kinds  of  beverages,  and  who 
drank  coffee  without  using  milk.  This  acted  as  a  stimulant 
but  one  which  quickly  subsided  and  was  the  cause  of  making 
the  body  weaker.  There  was  not  only  a  decrease  in  the  use 
of  milk  but  also  in  forms  of  food  whose  basis  is  milk,  on 
account  of  the  increase  in  prices.  Milk,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  is  the  food  that  is  essential  to  the  young,  the  mid- 
dle aged,  the  invalid  and  the  old.  Old  people  can  digest  and 
flourish  on  milk  with  other  ingredients;  middle  aged  can 
make  a  meal  on  milk  and  bread,  and  derive  nourishment. 
Children  positively  must  have  it. 

It  is  the  item  which  was  first  trimmed  in  nearly  every 
family  in  the  state.  Many  have  the  notion  that  doing  away 
with  it  is  no  harm.  They  were  aware  of  its  value  but  sim- 
ply could  not  have  it  in  the  quantity  they  had  previously. 
One  man  who  earned  $35  a  week  and  had  two  children,  was 
accustomed  to  take  two  quarts  daily,  this  he  cut  down  to 
one.  Milk  has  gone  from  8c.  a  quart  in  1916  to  16c.  for 
plain,  unadorned  milk  without  any  blue  ribbons  on  its  neck. 

When  a  commodity  increases  in  price  the  consumer  pro- 
tects himself  by  using  less.  Many  say  that  the  quality  of 
the  milk  is  not  as  good  as  formerly;  it  is  less  rich.  Many 
women  take  cow's  milk  and  mix  it  with  the  condensed  varie- 
ty when  giving  it  to  their  children.  But  the  condensed  milk 
has  so  advanced  that  many  are  afraid  they  are  not  really 
economizing  in  so  doing.  The  use  of  skim  milk  has  been 
recommended.  In  talking  with  mothers  and  suggesting  its 
use  in  greater  abundance,  there  was  general  prompt  nega- 
tive. It  may  be  nutritious  but  it  would  take  more  than 


104  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

curately  the  general  condition.  Averaging  is  not  resorted 
to  here  because  though  it  is  needful  in  the  statistical  line  to 
give  averages,  the  investigator  believes  they  are  not  just 
to  individual  instances. 

The  people  do  not  care  much  for  comparisons  of  prices. 
What  they  are  interested  in,  is  the  price  they  are  paying  to- 
day. Certainly  they  make  the  comparison  of  the  rise  in 
cost  in  all  items  in  reference  to  the  rise  in  wages.  Besides, 
the  rise  in  price  affects  more  than  the  wage  earning  and 
salaried  class.  It  affects  a  large  number  entitled  to  some 
consideration  who  are  living  on  incomes  shrunken  to  a 
twentieth  of  their  size  five  or  six  years  ago;  who  are  suf- 
fering from  government  experiments  in  lowering  railroad 
values ;  widows  and  orphans  of  men,  not  all  of  them  capita- 
lists, who  thought  they  were  insuring  their  families  com- 
parative comfort  by  investing  in  railroad  and  other  stocks, 
and  by  buying  property  whose  rental  would  be  an  assured 
income.  Now  these  people  have  to  consider  that  the  coming 
years  are  to  bring  them  such  increased  taxation  in  order 
that  the  government  may  have  a  revenue,  in  order  that  the 
state  may  have  a  revenue  to  replace  that  removed  or  eli- 
minated, that  the  cost  of  living  is  going  to  be  a  hard  problem 
for  them. 

Clothing  and  its  material  has  advanced  anywhere  from 
75%  to  100%  and  160%.  Rent  from  15  to  50%,  fuel  from 
20  to  45%,  in  some  localities  more.  In  the  case  of  the 
families  who  buy  coal  by  the  bag,  45%  does  not  cover  the 
increase.  Food  may  be  said  to  have  made  an  almost  uni- 
form advance  of  60%.  The  various  sundries  which  go  to 
make  up  a  family  budget,  such  as  reading,  medicine,  little 
extraordinary  expenses,  doctors,  dentists,  etc.,  are  not  esti- 
mated at  all. 

The  one  item  of  amusement,  such  as  theatre,  is  taxed 
outrageously,  so  that  it  looks  as  if  people  would  have  to 
amuse  themselves  by  staying  home  and  planning  how  to 
live  sans  everything. 

January  15th,  1919,  bargain  prices  for  pork  roast  in  the 
state  were  32c.  a  pound ;  leg  of  mutton,  30c. ;  legs  of  veal, 
28c. ;  lamb,  38c. ;  forequarters,  30c. ;  Boston  rolled  roasts  of 
beef,  30c. ;  shoulder  roasts,  28. ;  pot  roasts  26. ;  corned  beef, 
25c. ;  fresh  pork  shoulder,  32c. ;  porterhouse  steak,  70c. ; 
round,  30  to  38c. ;  sirloin  and  short,  38  to  45c. ;  beef  liver,  12 
to  18c. ;  potatoes  45  to  50c.  per  peck;  eggs,  85  to  90c.  per 
dozen,  "strictly  fresh  laid,  native;"  storage  eggs,  58c  a 
dozen;  bacon,  38c.  per  pound  a  strip;  good  flour,  $1.40  to 
$1.60  per  bag,  a  great  reduction;  sweet  potatoes,  15c.  a 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  105 

quart;  condensed  milk  from  13  to  18c.  a  can;  coffee  32  to 
38c. ;  cabbage,  3c.  a  pound ;  cauliflower,  25c.  to  40c.  a  head : 
string  beans  30c.  a  quart ;  oranges,  50  to  90c.  a  dozen ;  tur- 
nips, 5c.  a  pound ;  butter  66  to  75c.  a  pound,  onions,  3  to  4c 
a  pound;  grapefruit,  10  to  15c.  apiece;  carrots  4  to  5c.  a 
pound;  apples,  75c.  to  $1  a  peck  for  eating,  and  50c.  for 
cooking;  cheese,  a  great  food  with  many,  not  fancy  varie- 
ties, 45  to  50c. 

This  is  a  fair  allotment  from  which  to  pick  out  a  sub- 
stantial meal.  It  is  also  on  the  whole  a  lowering  of  prices. 
One  item  most  essential,  particularly  to  children,  does  not 
appear  on  the  list,  and  is  not  in  the  reduced  column — that 
of  milk.  The  truth  should  be  emphasized  that  during  the 
epidemic,  which  has  by  no  means  become  a  thing  of  the  past, 
many  children  were  underfed  and  undernourished  and  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  resisting  vitality  through  the  cutting  down 
of  their  milk  supply.  The  same  thing  applies  to  adults  who 
left  off  milk  and  took  to  other  kinds  of  beverages,  and  who 
drank  coffee  without  using  milk.  This  acted  as  a  stimulant 
but  one  which  quickly  subsided  and  was  the  cause  of  making 
the  body  weaker.  There  was  not  only  a  decrease  in  the  use 
of  milk  but  also  in  forms  of  food  whose  basis  is  milk,  on 
account  of  the  increase  in  prices.  Milk,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  is  the  food  that  is  essential  to  the  young,  the  mid- 
dle aged,  the  invalid  and  the  old.  Old  people  can  digest  and 
flourish  on  milk  with  other  ingredients;  middle  aged  can 
make  a  meal  on  milk  and  bread,  and  derive  nourishment. 
Children  positively  must  have  it. 

It  is  the  item  which  was  first  trimmed  in  nearly  every 
family  in  the  state.  Many  have  the  notion  that  doing  away 
with  it  is  no  harm.  They  were  aware  of  its  value  but  sim- 
ply could  not  have  it  in  the  quantity  they  had  previously. 
One  man  who  earned  $35  a  week  and  had  two  children,  was 
accustomed  to  take  two  quarts  daily,  this  he  cut  down  to 
one.  Milk  has  gone  from  8c.  a  quart  in  1916  to  16c.  for 
plain,  unadorned  milk  without  any  blue  ribbons  on  its  neck. 

When  a  commodity  increases  in  price  the  consumer  pro- 
tects himself  by  using  less.  Many  say  that  the  quality  of 
the  milk  is  not  as  good  as  formerly;  it  is  less  rich.  Many 
women  take  cow's  milk  and  mix  it  with  the  condensed  varie- 
ty when  giving  it  to  their  children.  But  the  condensed  milk 
has  so  advanced  that  many  are  afraid  they  are  not  really 
economizing  in  so  doing.  The  use  of  skim  milk  has  been 
recommended.  In  talking  with  mothers  and  suggesting  its 
use  in  greater  abundance,  there  was  general  prompt  nega- 
tive. It  may  be  nutritious  but  it  would  take  more  than 


106  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

argument  to  make  99  out  of  100  mothers  try  it  on  their 
children.  A  mother  rather  pithily  expressed  "Why  don't 
those  people  who  want  us  to  use  skim  milk  use  it  them- 
selves? That  would  leave  more  for  the  babies."  The  money 
expended  in  insuring  the  purity  of  the  milk  supply  is  well 
used.  The  boards  of  health  all  through  the  state  are  do- 
ing fine,  systematic  work  under  the  direction  of  the  State 
Board  of  Health.  There  is  much  improvement  in  this  re- 
spect snce  1914,  when  some  dangerously  lax  conditions 
existed.  It  is  not  so  much  with  the  health  conditions  as 
with  the  price  of  milk  that  concern  should  be  manifested, 
An  element  of  food  that  is  vital  need  for  the  proper  nourish- 
ment of  the  weakest  element  of  our  future  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  advance  100  or  150%  without  sharp  inquiry  into 
the  real  or  alleged  causes. 

The  consumption  of  ice  cream,  a  food  product  from  milk, 
has  been  cut.  Families  who  never  let  a  day  pass  or  a  Sun- 
day dinner  go  without  making  ice  cream  a  part  of  the  meal, 
could  not  locate  the  ice  cream  freezer  today.  They  would 
not  think  of  spending  the  money  for  cream  as  they  have 
been  educated  to  hold  it  a  luxury.  Yet  it  has  great  nutri- 
tive value.  In  this  connection,  the  falling  off  in  the  pur- 
chase of  candy  is  about  65%. 

Another  milk  product,  butter,  has  decreased  about  45% 
in  purchasing.  Children  who  used  to  think  a  thick  slice 
of  bread  and  butter  was  to  be  eaten  under  protest  are  now 
glad  to  have  the  treat. 

Fruit  which  has  a  medicinal  as  well  as  food  value  is  rarely 
even  seen  on  the  tables  of  the  majority.  Eggs  are  59%  re- 
duced in  consumption,  according  to  the  statements  of  gro- 
cers, and  about  89%  increase  in  price  over  what  they  should 
be.  Farmers  are  not  to  be  blamed  for  this  state  of  affairs. 
With  the  price  of  grain  and  labor  at  the  summit,  the  farmer 
does  not  have  too  much  profit  on  his  poultry  and  egg  n?- 
partment.  The  blame  lies  higher  up. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  increase  in  the  price  of 
meat.  That  increase  in  price  should  not  be  considered  with- 
out the  decrease  in  its  use.  That  is  over  50%.  Many  do 
not  eat  meat  at  all  since  it  went  up  in  price.  Some  of  th? 
people  with  whom  the  investigator  talked,  gave  lectures  on 
the  bad  influence  of  red  meat  on  the  character  and  on  the 
lack  of  value  of  white  meat.  They  demonstrated  that  by 
consuming  a  couple  of  bales  of  some  other  food  substitute 
a  much  more  desirable  moral  and  physical  equipment  would 
be  insured.  99%,  however,  wanted  meat,  if  it  were  not  on 
the  table  they  had  a  craving  for  it.  Meat  in  the  state  of 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  107 

Connecticut  is  about  as  high  as  it  can  go  and  considerably 
higher  than  in  some  other  states.  In  the  industrial  centers 
during  their  heyday  of  work,  the  price  of  meat  increased 
over  60%  and  its  quality  decreased.  Shank  soup  meat  which 
made  the  foundation  for  a  filling  and  body  nourishing  meal 
increased  from  5  and  6c.  a  pound  to  22c.  and  over. 

Olive  oil  which  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  food  products 
for  a  large  foreign  element  of  the  population  has  increased 
in  price  175%  and  decreased  in  consumption  about  80%. 
Imported  olive  oil'has  not  been  asked  for  for  over  a  year. 
Its  price  rose  exactly  175%.  The  substitutes  offered  do  not 
fill  the  requirements  of  the  users.  It  will  be  about  nine 
years  before  California  can  profitably  and  largely  supply 
this  valuable  nutriment. 

Cheese  is  a  food  rather  than  a  condiment  to  many  of  our 
residents  and  citizens.  It  is  not  bought  in  half  the  amount 
it  was  in  1916,  nor  are  the  varieties  offered  for  sale.  Taking 
the  estimate  of  one  large  firm,  the  decrease  in  demand  was 
such  that  during  the  months  from  January  1st  to  August 
1st,  1918,  the  demand  was  but  a  small  fraction  over  the 
sales  for  the  month  of  January,  1915.  Milk  cheese  was 
suggested  in  the  summer  of  1918  as  a  valuable  article  that 
should  be  used  more  largely,  but  the  suggestion  found  no 
favor  with  the  foreign  born,  who  use  cheese  more  than  any 
other  element  of  the  population. 

All  substitutes  for  wheat  and  the  wheat  products  used 
for  cereals  were  outrageously  high  in  1918.  Their  prices 
have  fallen  but  in  no  proportion  to  their  abundance.  These 
substitutes  were  many  of  them  just  as  valuable  food  nutri- 
tives, but  their  price  was  prohibitive. 

The  1918  estimate  for  living  includes  not  only  the  money 
spent  but  the  money  saved  by  retrenchment.  Perhaps  in 
some  instances  that  retrenchment  was  the  gravest  sort  of 
expense  for  it  was  a  retrenchment  which  seriously  menaced 
the  health  of  women  and  children,  affecting  men  in  a  lesser 
degree.  In  every  family  expense  was  cut  down  a  third,  and 
in  many  one-half. 

While  different  business  centers  can  show  a  great  out- 
lay for  clothing,  amounting  in  individual  cases  tc  extrava- 
gance, the  general  trend  was  toward  conservation  among 
the  salaried  class.  Those  who  spent  money  most  freely 
for  clothing  of  expensive  quality  were  the  munition  workers 
in  Bridgeport  and  other  war  plant  locations.  The  mer- 
chants of  the  state  dealing  in  women's  clothing  and  likf 
accessories  say  they  never  had  a  more  prosperous  season 
than  that  of  1917-1918.  The  advance  in  the  price  of  cloth- 


110  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

it  is  held  until  16  to  a  course  of  study  which  keeps  it  out  of 
the  illiterate  class  and  fulfills  the  obligation  of  the  state. 
Many  who  might  like  a  college  training  have  not  the  means 
to  continue.  More  than  70%  must  have  some  reliable  way 
of  providing  for  their  future  that  lies  outside  the  lines  of 
academic  education.  The  last  year  of  the  schooling  of  the 
boy  and  girl  who  are  in  school  to  stay  until  they  reach  the 
age  that  liberates  them  is  not  productive  of  much  good  to 
them  individually.  They  are  simply  trying  to  get  by.  When 
some  of  this  sort  leave  the  public  schools  it  is  customary  to 
go  to  business  college  to  obtain  commercial  training. 

The  number  who  go  immediately  to  work  after  16  is  not 
a  decreasing  but  an  increasing  quantity.  Circumstances 
are  going  to  make  it  still  larger.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
families  to  strain  every  nerve  to  keep  their  children  in 
school.  Among  the  people  of  foreign  birth  where  large 
families  predominate  often  two  or  three  children  are  in  the 
same  grades  at  the  same  time.  It  is  no  small  drain  on  the 
family  resources  to  support  the  children.  To  receive  an 
education  which  shall  be  useful  as  well  as  academic  is  the 
right  of  the  children.  Such  an  education  can  be  given  so 
that  their  mental  and  manual  equipment  will  be  cared  for. 
Any  teacher  who  has  devoted  time  to  studying  her  pupils 
will  corroborate  the  statement  that  between  14  and  16  over 
70%  of  the  boys  who  leave  school  are  the  ones  who  did  not 
take  any  special  interest  in  the  usual  education,  in  fact, 
were  boys  many  of  whom  had  fallen  far  behind.  Had  in- 
dustrial training  been  a  part  of  the  system  those  boys  and 
the  smaller  per  cent,  of  girls  who  drop  out  would  have  re- 
mained. 

In  a  state  like  Connecticut  where  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  population  is  engaged  in  industrial  work  and  is  de- 
pendent on  it  for  its  living,  it  seems  there  should  be  recog- 
nition that  the  children  who  are  being  educated  and  who 
leave  school  as  early  as  the  law  allows  are  not  receiving 
the  proportionate  consideration  which  equity  demands.  In 
other  words,  are  children  not  inclined  for  higher  education 
getting  the  just  return  from  the  educational  system  main- 
tained at  such  an  outlay?  Does  it  not  seem  where  the 
smaller  number  of  children  continue  and  expense  is  in- 
curred for  them  that  they  receive  a  larger  benefit?  But 
this  cannot  be  set  down  as  injustice  so  much  as  the  result 
of  circumstances. 

However  a  more  equitable  arrangement  can  be  made 
whereby  mechanically  inclined  children  may  continue  their 
education  longer,  certain  that  it  is  going  to  give  them  a 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  Ill 

greater  market  value  when  they  enter  the  working  lines. 
Nor  does  it  mean  that  their  work  will  be  purely  manual. 
There  are  many  branches  of  vocational  education  such  as 
draughting  and  engineering  work  that  could  be  added  to 
the  curricula  of  the  higher  grade  schools  with  advantage. 
Grade  schools  should  have  what  is  called  pre-vocational 
work.  The  manual  training  high  school  should  continue 
it  as  vocational.  It  will  be  found  that  if  this  be  made  gen- 
eral instead  of  exceptional  there  will  be  greater  continuance 
in  school  and  better  classes  of  workers  sent  out.  Something 
should  be  done  so  that  pupils  who  have  to  stop  at  the  gram- 
mar school  stage  shall  have  more  benefits  than  they  derive 
at  present,  even  if  it  entailed  adding  another  sort  of  junior 
high  school  grade  to  the  grammar. 

An  endeavor  was  started  by  the  investigator  to  find  out 
from  the  superintendents  of  schools  in  the  largest  industrial 
centers  some  information  which  could  be  used  in  answer- 
ing the  questions :  How  large  a  proportion  of  the  scholars 
leaving  school  quit  because  of  necessity  or  disinclination  to 
study,  and  what  fields  have  they  entered?  What  propor- 
tion of  those  who  sought  high  school  training  were  native 
born  or  had  direct  foreign  ancestry?  What  effect  the  food 
restrictions  had  on  the  health  of  the  children  in  the  lower 
grades  ?  What  co-operation  existed  between  public  day  and 
evening  schools  and  factory  schools  and  factory  manage- 
ments ? 

The  time  was  too  short  to  obtain  answers  which  would  be 
representative.  To  tell  the  truth,  some  of  the  superinten- 
dents had  never  thought  of  the  matter  and  one  or  two 
showed  no  interest  whatever.  The  superintendent  of  the 
Hartford  public  schools  evinced  interest,  although  since  find- 
ing the  time  did  not  permit  of  answers  from  the  superin- 
tendents and  equal  justice  to  all,  the  matter  was  not  passed, 
Special  thanks  are  due  to  Superintendent  Beede  of  the  New 
Haven  schools  for  his  recognition  of  the  needs  of  some  such 
inquiry  as  that  which  is  rather  crudely  outlined  here,  and 
also  for  the  prompt  courtesy  and  co-operation  he  has  shown 
in  furnishing  data  concerning  the  nationalities  of  the  pupils 
in  the  public  schools  of  that  city. 

The  report  for  1918  will  not  be  ready  until  February 
1st,  1919.  That  for  1917,  which  was  received  in  February, 
1918,  showed  there  were  in  New  Haven  schools  27029  chil- 
dren of  whom  8115  were  Americans  of  several  generations' 
descent ;  1304  born  of  Irish  parents ;  926  of  German ;  8578 
of  Italian;  4486  of  Russian;  466  of  Polish;  655  of  Negro, 
473  of  English,  485  of  Swedish,  and  of  foreign  born  1754. 


112  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

There  is  no  question  but  that  more  than  80%  of  that  num- 
ber would  be  directly  interested  in,  and  benefited  by,  voca- 
tional education.  Provision  is  now  making  for  such  train- 
ing of  disabled  soldiers.  That  training  is  not  wholly  the 
vocational  training  of  the  kind  considered  here,  but  it  ne- 
cessarily embraces  some  of  it.  Many  of  the  soldiers  who 
are  returned  and  returning,  both  well  and  disabled,  had  no 
training  before  they  left.  Their  chances  of  obtaining  and 
holding  good  employment  would  be  manifestly  better  if 
they  had  such  a  basis. 

At  present  under  the  auspices  of  the  State  Board  of  Edu- 
cation trade  schools  are  conducted  at  Bridgeport,  Danbury, 
New  Britain,  New  Haven,  South  Manchester,  Putnam,  Tor- 
rington,  Waterbury,  New  London,  Meriden,  and  Stamford 
will  be  added  during  the  year.  In  those  in  existence  there 
are  3000  pupils. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  118 


GREATER     INCREASE     OF     HEALTH     VIGILANCE 
IN     THE     STATE. 

In  the  report  of  1915-1916  issued  in  1917,  the  investigator 
called  attention  to  the  greater  need  of  sanitary  regulation 
in  a  number  of  industries.  These  had  been  regarded  as 
rather  outside  the  pale  of  inquiry.  As  a  consequence  the 
conditions  were  extremely  bad  in  many.  Were  these  of 
such  a  nature  that  only  the  workers  in  the  places  would  be 
affected,  the  menace,  however  serious,  would  not  entail 
general  evils.  But  the  character  of  the  industries  were  such 
that  all  who  patronized  them  incurred  danger  if  cleanliness 
and  strict  guard  on  the  composition  of  the  materials  and  the 
condition  of  the  workers  employed  were  not  observed. 

These  industries  were  the  restaurant,  Chinese  and  other 
laundries,  soda  water  dispensaries,  whether  at  the  counters 
of  drug  stores,  dry  goods  stores  or  regular  ice  cream  and 
candy  "emporiums."  While  some  of  these  places  were  al- 
ready well  cared  for  and  others  passed  the  requirements 
of  the  law,  there  were  enough  of  large  and  small  to  make 
cleanliness  a  desirable  addition  to  their  outfit. 

The  laundries  conducted  by  white  men  have  been  wonder- 
fully improved.  In  many  of  them  lockers  were  placed  for 
the  clothing  of  the  employees,  although  the  price  of  the 
lockers  was  225%  higher  than  in  1916.  One  of  the  largest 
laundries  in  the  state,  situated  in  Hartford,  not  only  put  in 
lockers  but  took  extra  precautions  with  the  drinking  water 
and  the  sanitary  equipment.  Others  all  over  Connecticut 
have  made  improvements  suggested  to  them,  so  that  the 
condition  of  the  laundries  operated  by  white  men  is  above 
the  requirements  of  the  law.  The  beginning  of  1919  shows 
only  a  small  per  cent,  who  have  to  be  goaded  into  action. 
This  does  not  by  any  means  lessen  the  need  of  careful  in- 
spection. In  the  laundry  business,  perhaps  more  than  any 
other,  the  customer  is  so  benefited  or  imperiled  by  the  sani- 
tation of  the  laundry's  work  that  extra  vigilance  is  needed, 
particularly  when  it  is  known  that  the  shifting  forces  in 
these  places  are  made  up  of  all  sorts  of  people,  since  the 
war  drew  to  the  munition  industries  the  men  and  women 
who  were  formerly  employed  in  the  laundries.  This  mi- 
gratory labor  is  more  likely  to  require  care  and  scrutiny 


114  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

than  the  steady  employes  who  lived  near  by  or  whose  names 
were  on  the  payrolls  for  years. 

The  statements  made  in  the  Industrial  Report  of  1917 
issue  on  the  imperative  need  of  supervision  as  to  cleanliness 
and  other  reasons  over  the  Chinese  laundries  have  been 
amply  corroborated  by  the  number  of  arrests  made  in  the 
intervening  years  in  various  places.  The  owners  and  hab- 
itues of  this  class  of  laundry  where  it  is  a  cover  for  other 
occupations  are  still  subjects  for  increased  attention. 

There  are  yet  some  public  laundries  engaged  in  doing  tu- 
berculosis work.  Owing  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  com- 
mission had  to  delay  building  the  laundries  in  connection 
with  the  institutions.  The  construction  has  simply  been  de- 
ferred, as  it  will  undoubtedly  be  undertaken  the  coming 
spring  and  summer. 

Since  attention  was  called  to  the  dangers  which  were 
real  and  not  figments  of  imagination,  there  has  been  in  every 
city  in  the  state  greater  care  taken  of  the  cleanliness  and 
character  of  the  food  and  its  preparation  in  restaurants  and 
hotels.  Health  officers  deserve  commendation  for  their 
work  in  the  restaurant  line.  The  practice  of  having  a  card 
certifying  to  the  restaurant's  sanitation  is  admirable. 

One  drawback  to  getting  results  is  the  insufficient  number 
of  health  officers.  While  other  branches  of  city  government 
grow  to  meet  the  enlarged  demand,  health  departments 
remain  behind.  This  is  not  a  profitable  form  of  economy 
nor  one  that  meets  with  public  approval.  There  is  no  com- 
munity which  would  not  welcome  an  expenditure  which 
would  safeguard  its  health,  nor  is  there  any  community 
which  would  not  promptly  condemn  disregard  of  public 
health  on  the  part  of  a  health  board  or  any  other  authority 
whose  duty  it  was  to  prevent  disease  from  spreading.  One 
hundred  dollars  spent  for  prevention  is  worth  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  squandered  in  endeavor  to  effect  cure, 
There  is  need  of  sounding  the  tocsi  of  alarm  continually. 
With  tthe  resturant  manager  the  fact  that  cleanliness 
is  a  business  asset  is  being  established.  Patrons  may  not 
rise  up  and  denounce  them  when  they  discover  some- 
thing wrong  with  their  order,  but  they  have  just  as  ef- 
fective a  way  of  taking  dollars  and  patronage  elsewhere. 
This  was  the  way  last  summer  when  a  lady  with  a  party  of 
good  livers  and  generous  spenders  found  the  lobster  served 
her  full  of  maggots.  That  restaurant  will  find  newspaper 
advertising  in  the  locality  in  which  she  lives  an  unprofitable 
venture  this  summer. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  115 

When  the  business  of  inspecting  the  restaurants  was 
started  by  the  state  in  1914-1915,  there  was  indignant  re- 
sentment. But  even  the  most  hardened  restaurant  manager 
whose  olfactory  nerves  have  never  been  working  and  whose 
eyesight  had  dimmed,  when  led  to  his  refrigerator  and 
asked  to  look  at  the  shelves  and  to  pull  forth  the  articles 
lurking  thereon,  when  told  to  view  and  smell  the  compounds 
going  into  ragout  and  stews  and  croquettes,  and  goulashes, 
had  to  admit  that  some  of  them  were  a  bit  off.  As  one  man 
observed :  "I  must  say  the  boys  are  a  little  too  careful  about 
saving  things.  I  never  eat  anything  but  steak  and  good 
French  fries  myself.  I  never  ate  a  croquette  in  my  life,  and 
I  don't  know  anything  about  them." 

In  the  greater  part  of  the  restaurants  of  today,  the  kitch- 
ens no  longer  have  dark  and  filthy  corners  where  cock- 
roaches revel,  nor  do  the  cooks  carry  layers  of  dirt  on  hands 
and  face  and  aprons ;  nor  do  the  dishwashers  use  the  same 
water  all  day  and  wipe  off  the  dishes  with  the  same  greasy, 
dirty  towels.  They  are  vastly  improved.  The  scrap  pot 
has  not  so  many  varieties  of  left  over  and  scrapings,  partly 
because  the  restaurant  is  afraid  to  have  it  and  partly  be- 
cause in  the  days  of  Hooverizing,  it  was  a  clean  plate  which 
went  back  to  the  kitchen.  The  food  was  not  the  only  pos- 
sible injury  to  the  health  of  patrons.  While  bakers  were 
inspected  and  were  under  a  wholesome  law  concerning  the 
health  and  cleanliness  of  the  persons  employed,  restaurants 
and  hotels  could  have  and  often  did  have  men  and  women 
who  were  infected  with  tuberculosis,  typhoid,  skin  diseases 
and  some  other  disgusting  and  communicable  afflictions. 
Dishwashers  were  often  men  and  women  too  old  to  do  other 
work,  and  too  hopeless  as  to  their  future  to  take  proper 
care  of  their  persons.  This  is  changed  and  changing.  It 
takes  constant  vigilance  and  time,  but  aroused  public  senti- 
ment is  back  of  the  undertaking  and  there  is  no  intention  of 
relaxing  endeavor. 

Soda  water  and  ice  cream  stores  are  benefited  by  the  in- 
creasing activity,  despite  the  fact  that  some  of  them  did  not 
think  so  at  first.  Now,  however,  it  is  only  an  antiquated 
fossil  who  does  not  perceive  that  in  taking  proper  precau- 
tions for  the  safety  of  his  customers'  health  he  is  increasing 
his  own  business.  The  few  who  are  obstinate  will  have  to 
fall  into  line. 

The  use  of  the  individual  drinking  cup  is  becoming  more 
and  more  general.  Paper  dishes  and  cups  are  making  their 
way  by  the  merits  of  sanitation  and  convenience,  and  the 


116  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

closing  of  the  war  is  going  to  show  a  greater  increase,  both 
voluntary  and  recommended,  in  their  use. 

The  State  Department  of  Health  has  clearly  denned  au- 
thority in  some  aspects  of  sanitary  cleanliness  in  all  indus- 
tries considered.  With  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Fac- 
tory Inspection  co-operation,  the  state  of  Connecticut  is 
pretty  well  assured  of  satisfactory  results. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  117 


SAVINGS  IN  THE  STATE. 

So  much  has  been  said  of  the  direful  calamities  whch  are 
to  follow  the  war  that  it  may  be  a  little  encouraging  to  hear 
there  is  quite  a  large  number  of  persons  in  the  state  who 
will  be  able  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door.  There  are  over 
nine  hundred  thousand  depositors  in  the  savings  banks, 
state  banks  and  the  trust  companies  having  savings  de- 
partments. Reaching  up  to  the  million  mark  is  a  wonder- 
ful record,  considering  the  population  of  the  state.  The 
fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  many  have  deposits  in  a 
number  of  banks  and  the  actual  number  of  depositors  is 
actually  less  than  the  number  who  are  reckoned  as  having 
made  deposits.  Even  holding  this  in  view,  the  amount  of 
the  deposits  is  most  gratifying.  It  shows  that  Connecticut, 
the  land  of  steady  habits  and  of  prudent  folk,  clung,  even 
though  in  a  modified  degree,  to  its  old  customs.  It  would 
naturally  be  inferred  as  the  direct  effect  of  the  war  that 
savings  bank  deposits  would  show  large  shrinkage.  How- 
ever, during  1915  and  1916,  the  state  did  a  tremendous 
amount  of  work  which  brought  good  prices,  and  a  large  per 
cent,  of  the  workers  put  part  of  their  earnings  aside.  But 
with  another  class,  savings  decreased,  as  far  as  deposits 
were  concerned.  Partly  this  was  due  to  the  high  cost  of 
living. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Bank  Commissioner  the 
record  of  deposits  in  full  from  the  close  of  the  banking  year 
October  1st,  1917  to  October  1st,  1918,  is  given  with  the 
added  returns  made  since  the  Commissioner  closed  his  re- 
port.These  covered  the  period  from  October  1st,  1918  to 
December  31st,  1918. 

Oct.  1, 1918     Savings  Bank  deposits  $367,807,600.60 

Deposits  in  savings  departments 

of  Trust  companies  37,339,233.88 

Dec.  31,  1918    Savings  Bank  deposits  374,170,175.28 

Savings  Departments  of          , 

Trust  Companies  39,409,020.18 

During  the  month  of  January,  1919,  savings  deposits  in- 
creased greatly.  No  report  is  yet  available. 

The  entire  savings  bank  deposits  from 
October  1, 1915  to  October  1, 1916  were         $374,384,713.92 


118  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

In  State  Banks  and  Trust  Companies 
Savings  Departments  24,974,591.78 

Saving's  bank  deposits  from  October  1, 
1916  to  October  1,  1917  366,740,691.93 

State  Bank  and  Trust  Companies, 
Savings  Departments  33,565,293.38 

The  war  practically  ended  November  llth,  1918.  Since 
that  period  the  astonishing  increase  in  the  number  of  de- 
positors and  deposits  has  shown  there  must  have  been  a 
vast  amount  of  hoarding  done  by  people  who  evidently  were 
of  the  impression  that  if  they  jpnt  their  surplus  *in  the  sav- 
ings banks  it  would  be  less  safe  than  between  mattresses  or 
in  old  stockings.  That  this  practice  was  followed  largely  in 
the  foreign  class  is  further  indicated  by  police  reports  which 
show  in  several  cities  robberies  of  houses  where  thefts  of 
considerable  sums,  hidden  in  mattresses  and  out  of  the  way 
places,  occured. 

The  increase  of  deposits  since  the  close  of  the  war  up  to 
December  31st,  1918,  was  seven  million  dollars  in  savings 
banks  and  about  five  or  six  million  dollars  in  savings  de- 
partments of  trust  companies. 

In  Bridgeport,  the  home  of  industries  payng  high  wages, 
the  net  increase  reported  by  the  institutions  of  that  city  for 
the  month  of  December,  1918,  totalled  $1,122,000.  In  the 
week  from  January  2nd  to  January  10th,  $400,000  was 
deposited. 

Granted  that  a  large  part  of  this  represents  hoardings,  it 
is  to  be  understood  that  the  hoarders  represent  a  large  part 
of  the  workers  of  that  town,  who,  if  those  facts  were  not  in 
evidence,  might  otherwise  be  said  to  be  suffering  from  the 
after  effects  of  the  war.  It  also  proves  a  revival  of  con- 
fidence in  the  United  States  as  being  a  pretty  good  place 
for  their  permanent  abode.  It  also  goes  to  favor  the  in- 
ference that  despite  the  conditions  resulting  from  the  unex- 
pected closing  of  the  war,  Bridgeport  is  not  headed  in  any 
direction  but  toward  progress. 

The  amount  of  money  in  the  savings  banks  of  the  state 
is  a  fair  criterion  of  the  general  condition  in  that  state. 
There  have  been  deposits  in  the  savings  banks  that  have 
not  been  molested  since  they  were  put  in.  Besides,  savings 
bank  depositors  represent  the  class  of  moderate  means, 
workers  in  the  greater  number  of  cases.  Part  of  tthis  de- 
positing contingent  also  own  property,  life  insurance  and 
more  or  less  stocks  in  various  concerns,  and  belong  to  mut- 
ual benefit  associations.  In  considering  the  savings  of  the 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  119 

people  of  the  state  during  this  period,  there  is  not  included 
the  very  large  amount  invested  in  building  and  loan  associa- 
tions, whch  are  safe  and  conservative  methods  of  utilizing 
money.  Nor  the  sums  that  have  been  put  into  Liberty 
Bonds  and  War  Savings  Stamps.  Yet  all  of  these  have 
taken  money  which  otherwise  would  have  been  deposited. 
Quite  a  contribution  which  otherwise  might  have  been 
hoarded  came  to  Liberty  Bonds  through  the  foreign  class. 
War  savings  as  well  as  Liberty  Bonds  have  their  quota. 

Since  the  beginning  of  unemployment  and  the  shifting  of 
the  labor  from  outside  to  its  original  location,  there  has 
been  a  falling  off  in  the  payments  on  the  last  liberty  loan. 
The  previous  ones  were  all  paid  for,  owing  to  the  system 
employed  by  factories  and  other  agencies  of  collection.  But 
men  and  women  who  subscribed  to  the  last  loan  and  who  are 
out  of  work  are  unlikely  to  continue  their  payments.  Some 
of  them  have  already  forfeited  what  they  have  paid  and 
others  have  sold  their  bonds  at  a  discount.  This  is  most 
unfortunate.  It  is  a  pity  that  some  system  was  not  de- 
vised which  would  enable  them  to  have  these  bonds  held 
for  them.  In  many  cases  it  was  actually  necessary  to  sell 
them ;  in  others,  they  could  have  been  retained  were  it  not 
for  the  mischievous  calamity  cry  of  expected  continuance 
and  development  of  hard  times  which  greatly  discouraged 
those  who  were  without  surplus.  Where  the  bonds  were 
sold,  speculators  who  bought  them  to  hold  profited,  and  in 
many  cases  the  benefit  goes  to  the  government,  thus  having 
some  good  features. 

In  the  record  of  the  savings  of  the  people  there  is  not 
usually  included  the  vast  amount  of  money  that  is  really 
saved  by  the  mutual  benefit  societies'  plan  whereby  men  and 
women  members  pay  in  so  much  a  month  and  obtain  sick, 
death  or  disability  benefits.  In  this  way  disabled  men  and  the 
wives  and  families  of  deceased  members  are  recipients  of 
sums  which  enable  them  to  live  without  becoming  charges  on 
their  communities.  One  such  association,  the  Locomotive 
Engineers'  Mutual  Life  and  Accident  Insurance,  is  cited 
because  it  is  not  in  that  class  of  labor  which  is  affected  by 
the  ending  of  the  war  and  there  can  be  no  prejudice  in  tak- 
ing it  as  an  example.  This  association  had  levied  January 
1st,  1919,  claims  amounting  to  189,167  deaths,  for  which 
$344,250  was  paid;  15  killed  for  which  $31,000  was  dis- 
tributed and  7  other  claims  aggregating  $19,500,  making 
a  grand  total  of  $395,250  to  aid  those  who  were  deprived 
of  revenue  from  its  workers.  Connecticut  is  a  great  "join- 
ing" state.  It  has  any  number  of  other  associations  which 


120  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

are  mutual  benefit  in  both  a  fraternal  and  an  industrial 
sense.. 

All  in  all,  when  the  thrift  which  is  demonstrated  in  the 
saving  record  and  the  sagacity  comprising  thrift  in  the 
society  enrollment  are  considered,  the  state  stands  a  fair 
show  to  be  among  the  first  in  practical  preventive  of  any 
wide  spread  or  long  enduring  financial  suffering. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  121 


CHILD  LABOR. 

Child  labor  has  never  been  abused  in  Connecticut  as  it 
has  in  other  states,  notably  the  southern.  A  constant  agi- 
tation has  been  carried  on  here.  As  a  result  the  lawmakers 
passed  a  number  of  protective  and  prohibitive  measures 
long  before  the  splendid  efforts  of  the  friends  of  the  children 
of  the  country  succeeded  in  having  the  national  child  labor 
law  enacted.  As  soon  as  it  went  into  effect,  the  factory 
inspectors  of  the  state  began  a  vigorous  campaign  for  its 
strict  enforcement. 

Notices  requiring  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
eight  hour  law  were  placed  in  factories  and  all  business 
houses  where  children  under  16  were  employed  and  were 
to  be  regarded  as  under  the  regulations.  Rulings  were 
received  by  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Factory  Inspec- 
tion every  fortnight  from  the  Child  Labor  Bureau  at  Wash- 
ington and  where  they  were  of  pertinence,  immediately 
transmitted  to  the  industries  concerned.  The  state  depart- 
ment was  flooded  with  written  and  personal  inquiries  from 
employers  as  to  how  schedules  should  be  arranged,  whether 
certain  occupations,  not  manual,  might  be  excepted,  etc. 
The  rulings  from  Washington  were  explicit,  covering  every 
branch  of  employment  whether  manual  or  otherwise  in 
which  a  child  could  engage  in  a  factory.  They  permitted 
no  elastic  interpretation. 

Boys  who  were  in  an  office  to  answer  telephone  calls,  give 
information,  run  errands  through  the  departments,  carry 
parcels  and  go  after  the  mail  were  held  as  much  under  the 
law  as  they  who  worked  in  the  factory.  Of  course  the  same 
ruling  applied  to  girls. 

The  attitude  of  the  employers  in  this  matter  was  admir- 
able. After  they  had  received  explanation  of  just  what 
they  had  to  do  they  proceeded  to  co-operate  with  the  autho- 
rities, fairly  and  honestly  determined  to  give  the  law  every 
opportunity  to  prove  its  wisdom.  Whatever  trouble  there 
was  lay  with  the  older  employes  and  the  children  themselves. 
The  former  because  of  the  necessity  of  adjusting  their 
hours  of  labor  to  those  of  the  child.  Concretely:  In  order 
that  the  child  should  work  only  eight  hours  a  day,  the  em- 
ployer either  had  him  come  in  an  hour  later  in  the  morning 
or  extended  his  lunch  hour  to  two,  or  had  him  go  home  an 
hour  earlier  in  the  afternoon  %  All  of  these  plans  were  based 


122  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

on  the  nine  hour  day.  Where  ten  hours  were  the  rule,  the 
same  plans  were  followed,  merely  making  the  time  two 
hours  instead  of  one.  On  Saturdays  the  child  only  worked 
till  12  noon,  thus  having  in  reality  a  44  hour  week  instead 
of  48. 

No  matter  what  course  was  devised,  its  application  af- 
fected adult  work.  With  the  exception  of  carrying  letters 
and  messages  and  looking  after  the  office,  there  was  no 
special  branch  of  work  in  which  boys  and  girls  under  the 
eight  hour  law  could  labor  without  in  some  way  affecting 
that  of  the  older  employes.  Even  in  inspection,  the  re- 
ceiving and  completion  of  their,  portions  of  the  work  had  to 
be  regulated.  In  time  keeping,  minors  within  the  law  could 
not  be  used ;  in  handing  out  tools  and  helping  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  them  there  as  soon  as  the  workers  began. 
When  the  boy  came  in  later  in  the  morning,  some  part  of 
the  work  had  to  be  arranged  to  fit  his  time;  when  he  left 
earlier  in  the  afternoon,  it  involved  adjusting  some  work  to 
suit  his  departure ;  in  short  the  different  schedules  of  adult 
and  child  labor  created  some  difficulties  and  entailed  some 
loss  of  time.  Loss  of  even  a  minute  of  time  in  the  case  of 
an  individual  counts  in  production  and  time  when  multiplied 
by  the  yearly  working  time.  Loss  when  multiplied  by  the 
number  who  are  concerned  amounts  to  thousands  of  dollars 
in  the  working  year.  When  the  children  working  were  dis- 
missed earlier,  they  did  not  go  home  but  hung  around  out- 
side the  building  gossiping  and  making  noise.  When  they 
came  in  later  in  the  morning  they  caused  some  interruption 
and  the  same  was  true  of  the  lengthening  of  their  noon  hour. 
Another  drawback  which  became  apparent  to  the  close  ob- 
server was  the  psychological  effect  of  one  class  of  workers 
leaving  before  another  as  suggesting  the  idea  and  feeling 
of  fatigue,  and  causing  a  lessening  of  production.  The  in- 
vestigator noted  in  a  number  of  factories  that  when  a  child 
employed  left  off  work,  those  who  were  left  invariably 
looked  to  see  what  time  it  was  and  without  any  suggestion 
commented  on  the  hour  and  how  glad  they  would  be  to  be 
relieved. 

The  upshot  of  it  all  was  that  employers  generally  resolved 
to  dispense  with  this  form  of  labor,  even  though  they  sorely 
required  it.  Few  concerns  were  encouraging  child  labor 
when  the  eight  hour  law  was  declared  off.  Even  then  they 
did  not  immediately  seek  to  avail  themselves  of  its  aid.  Had 
an  eight  hour  law  been  uniform  for  all  employees,  the  situa- 
tion would  have  been  vastly  different.  So  far  as  personal 
observation  and  investigation  goes,  the  labor  of  children 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  123 

under  16  has  never  been  so  satisfactory  as  to  be  greatly 
desired.  It  is  not  likely  from  their  experience  that  a  con- 
certed effort  would  be  made  by  the  employers  of  the  state 
to  retain  it  except  for  such  exigency  as  the  war. 

When  this  class  of  workers  is  employed  in  mercantile  es- 
tablishments the  duties  are  much  lighter  than  in  manu- 
facturing. These  minors  are  held  in  such  work  because 
older  help  cannot  afford  to  take  such  occupations  which  they 
fill. 

Medical  statistics  do  not  include  many  serious  effects.  The 
employment  of  child  labor  which  has  the  least  objectionable 
features  and  has  not  resulted  in  bad  effects  and  is  most  lu- 
crative to  the  young  employe  is  that  offered  in  the  tobacco 
fields  of  the  state.  In  a  much  less  degree,  farm  work  is  also 
allowable  on  the  ground  of  fresh  air,  but  it  is  decidedly  true 
that  boys  working  on  a  farm  often  are  asked  and  compelled 
to  do  as  much  work  as  an  adult.  In  the  tobacco  fields  and 
sheds  the  young  workers  are  not  employed  more  than  55 
hours  a  week  and  practically  receive  as  much  money  as  they 
can  make.  The  work  is  not  laborious  nor  confining.  Many 
children,  both  boys  and  girls,  worked  in  the  tobacco  tents 
and  fields  during  the  summer  of  1918.  A  large  number 
came  from  nearby  homes.  Others  came  in  auto  trucks  from 
Hartford  and  smaller  towns  up  the  valley.  Any  morning 
between  6  and  6:30  groups  of  children  with  here  and  there 
old  women,  could  be  seen  at  the  corner  of  Sheldon  and  Main 
streets,  and  at  other  junctions  waiting  for  their  convevan- 
ces.  They  were  usually  singing  and  laughing,  and  evident- 
ly regarded  their  trip  and  work  in  the  line  of  an  outing. 
They  were  brought  back  between  5  and  6,  and  even  then 
they  were  having  a  gay  time  among  themselves.  There  was 
not  a  sick  looking  child  in  the  load.  Their  eyes  were  bright, 
their  faces  healthily  colored,  their  flesh  firm  and  their 
muscles  hard.  They  were  remarkably  clean  skinned.  Cut- 
ting off  the  tendrils  of  the  tobacco  was  about  the  most  tax- 
ing labor.  The  rest  of  the  day's  work  did  not  include  any 
stooping  over  arid  was  performed  under  good  conditions. 
They  made  good  pay,  receiving  from  $10  to  $15  a  week. 
Some  of  them  did  not  work  the  full  55  hours  and  they  could 
have  the  Saturday  holiday  if  they  wished.  The  greater  part 
of  these  children  are  those  who  would  not  be  allowed  by  the 
state  to  work  at  any  other  than  a  seasonal  outdoor  occupa- 
tion. Children  who  could  obtain  certificates  were  not  found 
in  any  appreciable  number  in  the  tobacco  fields.  In  one 
month  of  1917,  and  two  of  1918,  only  49  certificates  were 
issued  by  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  children  between 


124  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

14  and  16  enabling  them  to  work  in  tobacco  concerns.  The 
work  of  sorting  and  packing  is  done  in  tobacco  warehouses, 
and  the  law  defines  the  latter  as  manufacturing  establish- 
ments to  be  governed  by  laws  applicable  to  that  class.  The 
workers  in  the  field  tents  range  from  10  to  14,  only  a  very 
few  were  above  the  latter  age  in  the  1500  in  this  industry  in 
the  season. 

In  1916  the  number  of  certificates  issued  to  child  workers 
between  14  and  16  in  all  occupations  was  13750  up  to  the 
first  day  of  November.  From  November  1st,  1916,  to  No- 
vember 1st,  1917,  11502  regular  permits  and  3224  vacation, 
were  given  out,  amounting  to  14837 ;  from  November  1st, 
1917,  to  November  1st,  1918, 'the  regular  permits  were 
13715  and  4003  vacation.  From  August  1,  1918,  to  Novem- 
ber 1,  1918,  3943  regular  and  251  vacation  were  certified, 
a  total  of  4194.  It  is  easy  to  figure  from  this  the  proportion 
in  which  child  labor  increased  in  the  state  in  the  epochal 
period  of  the  war. 

It  would  be  valuable  information  to  learn  from  school 
records  how  the  children  who  are  given  permission  to  work 
during  vacation  compare  in  their  studies  with  those  who  do 
not  work.  In  many  families  where  there  are  drunken  or 
worthless  husbands  or  a  widowed  mother  with  dependent 
children,  it  is  a  needed  help  for  the  child  to  work  through 
the  vacation  and  on  Saturdays.  There  is  a  boy  who  works 
Saturdays  and  provides  the  Sunday  and  Monday  food  for 
the  family.  Where  men  are  unable  to  work  through  disa- 
bility or  sickness,  it  is  not  so  bad  to  have  a  child  help  to 
clothe  himself  to  stay  in  school  or  to  contribute  to  the  up- 
keep of  the  family.  But  there  is  no  more  despicable  sight 
to  be  seen  than  that  often  furnished  in  the  State  Capitol  by 
brawny,  bleary  eyed  men  leading  some  puny,  undersized  boy 
or  girl  to  obtain  a  certificate  to  work.  Sometimes  the  chil- 
dren are  big  and  husky  too  and  generally  none  too  intelligent 
looking,  but  in  all  instances  the  mental  question  comes: 
Why  is  the  fond  parent  loafing  in  the  middle  of  a  workday 
so  that  he  can  show  his  willingness  to  have  his  children 
work  to  support  him?  In  the  opinion  of  a  woman  who 
witnessed  this  spectacle  such  men  should  be  sent  to  jail  and 
put  to  work  on  a  road,  and  their  wives  should  receive  their 
pay. 

During  the  physical  examination  made  necessary  during 
the  late  war  it  was  something  of  a  shock  to  find  so  many 
of  the  young  men  of  the  country  actually  unable  to  stand 
soldier  service.  While  their  conditions  could  not  justly  be 
ascribed  in  even  a  small  number  to  work  in  their  childhood 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  125 

days,  their  state  is  no  less  a  strong  plea  for  the  development 
of  stamina  by  conserving  child  strength. 

More  children  die  in  the  United  States,  about  300,000  a 
year  than  the  whole  number  of  casualties  in  the  war 
of  1917-1918.  They  might  have  been  saved  if  their 
mothers  had  not  been  weakened  by  working  days  or  nights 
and  they  themselves  had  better  milk,  better  care,  better 
housing.  There  is  not  such  a  large  number  of  children  to  the 
adult  population  of  the  state  that  even  one  in  100  can  be 
allowed  to  die.  It  is  an  imperative  duty  not  to  impose  un- 
necessary hardship  on  the  developing  mental  and  physical 
strength  of  the  14  to  16  year  old.  Instead  of  presenting 
these  children  with  certificates  to  work,  give  them  a  voca- 
tional education  which  will  proceed  side  by  side  with  the 
necessary  branches  of  learning,  so  that  from  16  to  18  they 
will  be  able  to  bring  to  their  life  work  an  intelligent  trained 
mind  to  direct  the  operation  of  the  skill  in  whatever  branch 
of  labor  they  have  elected  as  theirs. 

There  is  no  pressing  need,  patriotic  or  otherwise  for 
child  labor  in  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  state  of 
Connecticut. 


126 


REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


STATISTICAL  DATA. 

Classifying  the  employees  as  to  their  personal  conditions, 
married,  single,  children,  ages,  nationality,  was  a  more  dif- 
ficult task  during  the  years  of  1917  and  1918  than  it  would 
have  been  at  other  periods.  So  much  personal  information 
had  been  sought  in  the  lines  of  draft  and  other  question- 
naires, and  so  many  were  suspicious  of  the  tenor  of  the  ques- 
tioning that  the  employers  themselves  in  some  cases  pre- 
ferred to  have  it  done  by  the  investigator.  In  the  larger 
number  however,  they  contributed  the  answers  as  to  age, 
nationality  and  civil  conditions. 

Where  the  information  had  to  be  personally  obtained,  the 
investigator  found,  like  the  employers,  the  greatest  difficulty 
lay  with  the  foreign  born,  whom  it  was  rather  hard  to  have 
understand  the  drift  of  the  queries.  Many  of  those  who 
utterly  failed  to  give  intelligible  answers,  or  any  answers  at 
all,  undoubtedly  followed  this  course,  because  by  some  pe- 
culiar process  of  reason  they  had  actually  persuaded  them- 
selves that  giving  the  information  meant  harm  to  them. 

TABLE  I. 

INDUSTRIES,    NUMBER    OF    EMPLOYES,    WAGES    AND    OUTPUT 
OF   THE    STATE    FOR   1917-18. 


Value  of 

No.  of 

No.  of 

Wages 

Output 

Industry 

Industries 

Employees     Dollars 

Dollars 

Advertising   Novelties  

3 

70 

77,441 

227,411 

Airplane  Works    '  

2 

256 

663,676 

919,093 

Aluminum  Castings   

2 

448 

628,752 

2,587,624 

Artificial    Ice    

6 

210 

266,550 

739,366 

Augur   Bits    

2 

139 

116,021 

704,380 

Automobiles    

228 

7,244 

8,963,588 

20,682,180 

Awnings    and    Upholstering.  .  . 

32 

873 

737,183 

2,123,532 

Bakeries   

511 

3,634 

3,795,653 

12,830,056 

Ball  and   Roller  Bearings  

7 

3,842 

3,692,517 

10,912,920 

Baskets   

1 

18 

12,954 

25,521 

Beds  and  Bed  Springs  

3 

67 

117,541 

221,687 

Bed  Quilts   

3 

655 

357,310 

3,621,070 

Bells    

7 

415 

268,491 

908,728 

Blacksmithing  Supplies    

4 

124 

141,109 

375,300 

Boat  Building   

9 

1,347 

2,269,427 

19,746,976 

Bone  and  Ivory  Goods    

5 

1,062 

1,098,047 

2,155,700 

Breweries    

30     • 

1,127 

1,669,445 

12,629,722 

Brass  Castings    

3 

156 

188,312 

662,315 

Brick   

5 

316 

417,988 

1,234,840 

Brushes   

6 

147 

76,828 

353,819 

WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


127 


Value  of 

No. 

of 

No.  of 

Wages 

Output 

Industry                                                   Industries 

Employees 

Dollars 

Dollars 

Buffing  Wheels   

5 

252 

208,624 

601,867 

Building    Hardware    

29 

13,362 

12,547,091 

41,489,654 

Buttons  and  Buckles    

19 

2,151 

1,424,567 

4,660,898 

Cabinet    Work    

46 

1,282 

1,619,428 

3,890,461 

Canning    

3 

149 

37,277 

138,323 

Cans    

1 

83 

203,580 

624,187 

Carpets    and    Rugs    

10 

8,298 

1,573,418 

5,687,393 

Carriage   Hardware     

2 

19 

34,064 

95,486 

Casket    Hardware    

5 

220 

176,515 

732,076 

Cereal    Grinding    

37 

687 

683,841 

7,884,926 

Chains    

5 

4,368 

3,634,226 

12,374,140 

Chemicals     

39 

1,862 

2,628,345 

10,251,986 

Chucks    

4 

756 

1,117,235 

3,042,788 

Clocks     

11 

5,921 

4,471,982 

10,356,792 

Clothing    

33 

642 

570,390 

2,347,504 

Cold  Storage   

4 

92 

49,228 

1,735,161 

Corsets     

24 

7,361 

4,205,092 

16,722,165 

Cotton    Cloth    

68 

15,495 

10,480,362 

60,611,453 

Cutlery     

15 

1,350 

1,167,248 

2,889,966 

Dairy    

25 

489 

527,940 

4,559,188 

Dies     

53 

5,589 

7,338,181 

22,726,348 

Drop   Forgings    

9 

862 

1,366,640 

.    5,123,582 

Dyeing  and  Cleaning  

47 

462 

411,884 

1,581,787 

Dynamos    

1 

6 

5,128 

9,681 

Electric   F'ittings    

28 

7,147 

4,580,046 

16,774,236 

Electrical   Installation    

29 

275 

499,449 

1,863,119 

Electrotypes    

8 

198 

338,952 

862,811 

Elevators    

.1 

680 

1,542,345 

2,687,982 

Enamel    Ware     

2 

172 

92,228 

203,425 

Engines    

10 

1,916 

1,413,868 

5,033,951 

Engravers    

20 

278 

416,525 

1,248,832 

Files    

1 

17 

9,598 

20,702 

Fire    Hydrants    .  .  .  

1 

599 

420,000 

1,290,000 

Gas  Meters    

2 

139 

188,178 

580,704 

Glass    

15 

354 

323,501 

1,902,943 

Glue,  Fertilizer  &  Fat  Rend'ng 

15 

431 

377,197 

3,056,138 

Gray  Iron  Castings   

3 

572 

589,896 

1,560,636 

Guns,   Revolvers   and  Munitions 

34 

60,997 

50,207,784 

204,622,513 

Hardware    Specialties     

42 

4,147 

5,374,875 

22,337,872 

Hats  and  Caps   

77 

8,548 

5,423,304 

108,085,071 

Heaters,  Furnaces   and  Boilers. 

9 

354 

342,105 

1,977,259 

Heavy   Machinery    

105 

19,174 

18,167,553 

53,496,579 

Horseshoe    Nails    

1 

89 

85,474 

320,897 

House   Finish   and   Woodwork.  . 

162 

4,182 

6,333,833 

17,337,610 

Household  Articles    

5 

85 

64,184 

371,359 

Ice   Cream  and  Confectionery.  . 

137 

1,847 

1,663,127 

9,441,275 

Jewelry,    Art    Metal    Goods  .... 

12 

1,607 

1,191,201 

3,779,727 

Lace  and  Embroidery    

6 

1,220 

1,524,058 

4,525,407 

Laundries    

91 

3,405 

2,500,336 

4,704,770 

Laundry   Machinery    

2 

17 

15,449 

46,949 

Leather    '  

26 

878 

1,024,311 

4,527,432 

Light    and  Power    

49 

3,443 

4,271,051 

26,324,513 

Lime    

2 

44 

63,440 

261,323 

Lithographers    

1 

53 

23,130 

51,234 

Locksmith's    Supplies    

4 

133 

114,315 

421,947 

128 


REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


Value  of 

No 

.  Of 

No.  of 

Wages 

Output 

Industry                                                     Industries 

Employees 

Dollars 

Dollars 

Lumber    

56 

1,518 

1,834,191 

9,215,073 

Macaroni     

5 

63 

25,806 

168,641 

Marine   Hardware    

3 

537 

409,243 

1,528,123 

Machine  Parts    

4 

764 

940,299 

3,956,872 

Machine   Repairs    

9 

306 

409,856 

204,663 

Machine    Screw   Products    

9 

670 

817,240 

2,740,101 

Machine  Works    

8 

1,033 

945,575 

4,795,017 

Mattresses  &  Pillows    

15 

308 

258,298 

1,169,209 

Meat  Packers  and  Sausage  

15 

550 

521,642 

8,090,903 

Metal   Refiners    

8 

252 

245,523 

2,842,175 

Metal    Treating    

3 

149 

145,015 

829,108 

Metal  Tubes,  Boxes  and  Pipes. 

10 

2,761 

2,393,609 

10,236,935 

Metal    Plating    

13 

986 

1,611,981 

7,448,675 

Moulds  and  Cores   

4 

207 

213,721 

802,581 

Musical    Instruments    

14 

5,326 

6,390,289 

17,923,991 

Office    Appliances    

5 

305 

40,408 

210,444 

Oil  Refiners   

1 

10 

12,272 

103,611 

Oven   Thermometers    

1 

30 

18,888 

49,142 

Oyste'rs   

17 

802 

570,489 

1,192,327 

Paint  and  Varnish  

11 

326 

574,410 

2,233,577 

Painting    

6 

43 

48,414 

118,282 

Paper    Boxes    

105 

6,221 

3,922,964 

26,366,474 

Patterns  and  Models    

21 

407 

483,972 

1,616,635 

Plumbing,  Tin'g  &  Sheet  Metal 

86 

1,861 

3,445,490 

10,533,956 

Pins  and  Needles  

11 

3,553 

2,472,940 

8,740,737 

Pickles    

3 

53 

30,408 

174,488 

Piston    Rings    

1 

8 

6,500 

15,000 

Printing    

252 

4,193 

9,858,871 

12,419,410 

Printing   Machinery    

6 

586 

576,407 

1,433,567 

Radiators    

9 

453 

489,653 

1,721,187 

Recording  Instruments   

1 

685 

1,374,880 

6,001,992 

Railroads  and  Trollev  

12 

1,216 

711,073 

5,842,491 

Road  Sweepers   

1 

87 

113,500 

311,045 

Rubber  and  Elastic  Goods  

46 

14,628 

15,059,047 

51,484,563 

Saddlerv  Hardware    

3 

497 

299,296 

795,233 

Saws   and  Hammers    

5 

184 

249,394 

1,496,237 

Scrap  Iron  and  Metals  

10 

77 

187,931 

1,592,577 

Screws,  Rivets,  Washers,  Bolts, 

etc  

19 

1,974 

3,870,398 

10,123,542 

Seals   for   Bottles    

2 

212 

265,917 

925,563 

Sewing    Machines    

1 

1,912 

1,506,039 

2,184,160 

Shirts    

7 

938 

618,114 

2,482,342 

Shoddy    

9 

410 

302,626 

1,022,117 

Shoes    and    Leggins    

6 

1,118 

1,256,605 

4,846,061 

Silk  and  Velvet  

35 

11,616 

12,538,901 

43,876,894 

Silverware    

39 

5,698 

5,943,035 

31,205,947 

Small  Machinery    

66 

3,739 

6,581,178 

33,141,226 

Small  Metal  Articles  

30 

1,560 

1,272,510 

4,020,154  . 

Smelting   

4 

276 

590,298 

4,430,981 

Special   Machinery    

76 

28,130 

30,205,017 

68,483,331 

Soap   and   Toilet   Articles  

8 

553 

346,009 

16,044,068 

Soft   Drinks   and   Bottling    

58 

506 

744,928 

3,124,330 

Soldering    

1 

16 

24,960 

105,119 

Speed   Gears    

1 

167 

57,725 

98,590 

WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


129 


Industry 


No.  of  No.  of  Wages 

Industries  Emyloyees      Dollars 


Value  of 
Output 
Dollars 


Springs     6  1,050  1,283,427  5,998,572 

Starch    2  45  33,271  402,507 

Steel  Lockers    2  218  166,824  912,148 

Stone,  Plaster  and  Concrete    ..  92  3,327  5,752,640  19,991,163 

Storage    Batteries    2  86  26,185  259,929 

Store  Fixtures  and  Furniture. .  2  16  14,888  51,031 

Stoves    3  331  367,789  1,187,039 

Telephone  Devices  1  100  100,000  383,000 

Thread    7  3,633  2,152,102  12,582,133 

Tinware    1  25  21,724  46,322 

Tobacco    134  6,912  4,603,906  12,515,239 

Toys  &  Sport  Goods— Novelties  14  1,060  703,230  2,817,276 

Turbines    2  423  611,908  1,478,244 

Typewriters    5  2,674  2,181,644  4,093,256 

Umbrellas    4  54  50,832  155,494 

Underwear    17  3,052  2,547,252  9,545,856 

Vacuum   Cleaning  Devices    2  36  38,376  317,706 

Wagons   and    Carriages    40  329  491,012  1,241,398 

Waists  and  Dresses    14  727  631,518  2,828,613 

Water  Companies   3  111  123,514  961,941 

Watches    2  595  575,802  189,919 

Welding    17  909  2,154,430  7,659,504 

Wire    36  4,397  4,232,415  21,732,027 

Woolens  and  Worsteds     42  6,298  6,694,091  33,717,103 

X-Bay   Tubes    1  14  16,328  87,654 

Total    3,934  362,993  342,991,7501,158,045,644 

New  data  received  concerning  5,087  employes,  too  late  for  classification 
as  to  occupation  brings  total  list 

368,080  343,963,781 1,159,046,868 


130 


REPORT  CF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


TABLE  II. 

NATIONALITIES  OF  EMPLOYEES  IN  INDUSTRIES  OF  THE  STATE 
INVESTIGATED  IN  1917-1918. 


Per  Cent, 
of  Whole 

No.  of  Em- 

Nationalities 

Men 

Women 

Total 

Employees 

Abyssinian     

4 

16 

20 

.005 

Albanian    

916 

106 

1,022 

.27 

Algerian   

2 

4 

6 

.0016 

American    

100,292 

38,466 

137,758 

37.23 

Armenian    

1,798 

169 

1,967 

.52 

Australian    

6 

2 

8 

.002 

Austrian     

5,843 

1,186 

7,029 

1.88 

Bavarian    

8 

53 

61 

.016 

Belgian    

384 

568 

952 

.25 

Bohemian     

167 

189 

356 

.095 

Bulgarian    

39 

9 

48 

.013 

Canadian    

5,127 

2,610 

7,737 

2.075 

Chinese     

8 

0 

8 

.0024 

Croatian    

8 

0 

8 

.0024 

Cuban    

253 

42 

295 

.07 

Danish    

9,482 

2,152 

11,634 

3.12 

Dutch    

87 

12 

99 

.026 

Egyptian    

6 

0 

6 

.0016 

English    

7,871 

4,891 

12,762 

3.42 

Finnish   

208 

81 

289 

.075 

Flemish  

11 

25 

36 

.009 

French    

4,075 

2,094 

6,169 

1.65 

Galician    

31 

0 

31 

.083 

German    

9,321 

1,314 

10,635 

2.85 

Greek    

2,875 

549 

3,424 

.91 

Hungarian     

11,957 

4,811 

16,768 

4.57 

Indian    

6 

0 

6 

.0016 

Irish    

14,879 

6,586 

21,465 

5.76 

Italian    

33,454 

14,056 

47,510 

12.75 

Japanese    

35 

4 

30 

.01 

Jews    

2,729 

1,893 

4,622 

1.24 

Lettish    

187 

95 

282 

.0754 

Lithuanian    

6,669 

2,074 

8,743 

2.34 

Mexican    

34 

8 

42 

.011 

Montenegrin    

......                   20 

6 

26 

.007 

Negroes    

1,731 

559 

2,290 

.61 

Norwegian    

467 

157 

624 

.16 

Persian    

9 

4 

13 

.003 

Polish     

19,728 

5,256 

24,984 

6.7 

Porto  Rican  

62 

3 

65 

.017 

Portuguese    

971 

563 

1,534 

.41 

Roumanian    

514 

154 

668 

.18 

Russian    

13,840 

3,258 

17,098 

4.56 

Ruthenian    

7 

7 

14 

.004 

WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


131 


Nationalities 

Men 

Women 

Per  Cent. 
of  Whole 
No-  of  Em- 
Total    ployees 

Scotch 

2  034 

701 
0 
470 
14 
72 
1,863 
257    ' 
274 
0 
0 
9 
0 
9 

2,735 
165 
3,374 
160 
563 
12,903 
872 
1,314 
82 
34 
98 
14 
154 

.73 
.044 
.905 
.043 
.15 
3.46 
.23 
.35 
.022 
.009 
.026 
.004 
.041 

Servian    . 

165 

Slavish    .                .  • 

2,904 

South  American   

146 

Spanish    

491 

Swedish 

11  040 

Swiss   

.    .                 615 

Syrian    .        .  . 

1,040 

Turkish 

82 

Ukranian    

34 

Welsh       .      . 

89 

West   Indian    

14 

Miscellaneous 

145 

274,920    97,701   372,621 


100.00 


132 


REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


TABLE  III. 


NATIONALITIES. 


Men 
Number 


Per  Cent. 

of 
Men 


Per  Cent. 
Women       of 
Number  Women 


Abyssinian    4  .002  16  .016 

Albanian     916  .333  106  .109 

Algerian    2  .001  4  .004 

American    100,292  36.48  38,466  39.37 

Armenian  -. 1,798     '         .654  169  .18 

Australian    6  .002  2  .002 

Austrian     5,843  2.12  1,186  1.22 

Bavarian  8  .003  53  .054 

Belgian    384  .139  568  .58 

Bohemian    167  .068  189  .19 

Bulgarian   39  .014  9  .009 

Canadian    5,127  1.865  2,610  2.67 

Chinese   8  .003  0  .0 

Croatian   8  .003  0  .0 

Cuban    253  .092  42  .043 

Danish    9,482  3.449  2,152  2.2 

Dutch    87  .032  12  .02 

Egyptian    6  .002  0  .0 

English    7,871  2.863  4,891  5. 

Finnish 208  .075  81  .08 

Flemish  11  .004  25  .03 

French    4,075  1.48  2,094  2.14 

Galacian   31  .011  0  .0 

German   9,321  3.39  1,314  1.35 

Greek  2,875  1.046  549  .57 

Hungarian    11,957  4.35  4,811  4.93 

Indian   6  .002  0  .0 

Irish    14,879  5.44  6.586  6.74 

Italian  33,454  12.16  14,056  14.39 

Japanese    35  .012  4  .004 

Jew    2,729  .99  1,893  1.94 

Lettish    187  .068  95  .095 

Lithuanian    6,669  2.425  2,074  2.12 

Mexican   34  .012  8  .008 

Montenegrin    20  .007  6  .006 

Negroes    1,731  .63  559  .57 

Norwegian   467  .168  157  .157 

Persian   9  .003  4  .004 

Polish    19,728  7.17  5,256  5.38 

Porto   Rican 62  .023  3  .003 

Portuguese  971  .353  563  .58 

Roumanian  514  .187  154  .16 

Russian   '. . .  13,840  5.034  3,258  3.33 

Ruthenian    7  .003  7  .007 

Scotch   2,034  .739  701  .717 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


133 


Men 

Number 

Per  Cent.              Per  Cent, 
of             Women       of 
Men          Number  Women 

Servian  

165 

.06 
1.056 
.053 
.179 
4.01 
.224 
.378 
.03 
.012 
.033 
.005 
.053 

0 
470 
14 
72 
1,863 
257 
274 
0 
0 
9 
0 
9 

.0 
.48 
.014 
.07 
1.9 
.26 
.28 
.0 
.0 
.009 
.0 
.009 

Slavish. 

2904 

South  American  

....               146 

Spanish.  

491 

Swedish   

11,040 

Swiss    

615 

Syrian     

1;040 

Turkish  

82 

Ukranian 

34 

Welsh   '.  

.  .    .                  89 

West  Indian   .  . 

14 

145 

274,920        100. 


97,701        100. 


134 


REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


TABLE  IV. 


NATIONALITIES. 


Nationality 


Men  Women 

Per  Cent.  Per  Cent. 

Number  of  Whole     Number  of  Whole 


Abyssinian    4  .001  16             .004 

Albanian    916  .25  106              .03 

Algerian   *2  .001  4              .001 

American    100,292  26.92  38,466  10.32 

Armenian    1,798  .482  169              .05 

Australian    6  .002  2              .001 

Austrian    5,843  1.57  1,186              .31 

Bavarian    8  .002  53             .014 

Belgian   : 384              .103  568              .152 

Bohemian   167  .044  189              .05 

Bulgarian    39              .01  9              .003 

Canadian    5,127              .138  2,610              .7 

Chinese   8  .002  0              .0 

Croatian    8  .002  0              .0 

Cuban    253  .07  42              .011 

Danish    9,482  2.544  2,152              .57 

Dutch    87              .03  12              .003 

Egyptian     6  .002  0              .0 

English     7,871  2.11  4.891  1.31 

Finnish   208  .055  81              .02 

Flemish    11  .003  25              .006 

French'   4,075  1.09  2,094              .562 

Galician 31  .008  0              .0 

German     9,321  2.5  1,314              .35 

Greek     2,875  .771  549  .0147 

Hungarian    11,957  3.21  4,811  1.29 

Indian   '  6  .002  0              .0 

Irish 14,879  3.99  6,856  1.83 

Italian    33,454  8.97  14,056  3.77 

Japanese    35  .009  4             .001 

Jews    2,729  .73  1,893             .5 

Lettish    187  .05  95             .02 

Lithuanian    6,669  1.79  2.074              .55 

Mexican    34  .009  .8              .002 

Montenegrin    20  .005  6              .002 

Negroes    1,731  .464  559             .15 

Norwegians    467              .126  157              .04 

Persian   9  .003  4              .001 

Polish    19,728  5.29  5,256  1.41 

Porto  Rican  62  .016  3             .001 

Portuguese    971  .26  563             .151 

Roumanian    514  .14  154              .04 

Russian  13,840  3.71  3,258              .874 

Ruthenian    7  .001  7              .002 

Scotch    2,034  .543  701              .18 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  135 

Men  Women 

Per  Cent.  Per  Cent. 

Nationality  Number  of  Whole     Number  of  Whole 


Servian   

165 

.044 

0 

.0 

Slavish             .        

....             2,904 

.78 

470 

.12 

South  American 

146 

.04 

14 

.004 

Spanish    

491 

.131 

72 

.019 

Swedish 

11,040 

2.96 

1,863 

.5 

Swiss 

615 

.17 

257 

.07 

Syrian     .        

1,040 

.28 

274 

.073 

Turk 

82 

.022 

0 

.0 

TJkranian    .  .  .  . 

34 

.009 

0 

.0 

Welsh 

89 

.024 

9 

.003 

West   Indian    
Miscellaneous                •  .  • 

14 
145 

.003 
.038 

0 
9 

.0 
.003 

Total   numbers 

274,920 

73.77 

97,701 

26.23 
372,621 

Per  Cent.  . 

.   100.00 

136  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


TABLE  V. 
NATIONALITIES. 

Per  Cent,  of  English  speaking  peoples  in  industries  investigated  in 

1917-1918. 

Nationality  Men  Women 

American   100,292  38,466 

Australian    6  2 

Canadian    5,127  2.610 

English   7,871  4,891 

Irish    14,879  6,586 

Scotch  2,034  701 

Welsh    89  9 


130,298        53,265 
Total    183,563 

Entire  number  of  men  274,920 

Entire  number  of  women   97,701 

Total  372,621 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  of  men  English  speaking 47.40 

Per  cent,   of  entire  number  of  men   supposedly  non-English 

speaking 52.60 

100% 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  of  women  English  speaking 54.61 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  of  women  supposedly  non-English 

speaking  45.39 

100% 

Entire  number  of  men  and  women,  English  speaking 183,563 

Entire  number  of  men  and  women  who  are  employes 372,621 

Per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  who  are  assured  English  speaking  49.26 
Per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  who  are  supposedly  non-English 

speaking    50.24 

100% 

Of  the  50.24%  whose  foreign  birth  has  been  assumed  to  mean  entire 
ignorance  of  English,  the  investigator  believes  that  55%  of  the  whole 
number  of  foreign  races  or  about  26%  of  the  entire  number  investigated 
has  some  knowledge  of  English.  Of  that  26%,  fully  one-half  has  a  fair 
comprehension  of  English. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


137 


TABLE  VI. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  EMPLOYES  AS  TO  AGE  AS  GIVEN  BY  THE 
EMPLOYES  AND  EMPLOYERS  THEMSELVES. 


a 

• 

n 


Cen 
Wo 


a 

9) 

Per  Cent 

H 

Women 

g  s 

(So 

Per  Cen1 

Whole  1 

jjj 

II 

Under  16 
16-20 
20-30 
30-40 
40-50 
50-60 
60-70 

4,457 
17,124 
98,857 
93,532 
37,189 
9,870 
432 

1.7 
6.55 
37.82 
35.77 
14.22 
3.78 
.16 

1.25 

4.82 
27.83 
26.34 
10.4? 
2.77 
.12 

2,913 
14,506 
40,510 
23,494 
11,570 
676 
32 

3.108 
15.48 
45.233 
25,073 
12.348 
.722 
.034 

.82 
4.08 
11.4 
6.61 
3.29 
.19 
.01 

7,370 
31,730 
139,377 
117,026 
48,769 
10,546 
455 

2.08 
8.92 
39.24 
32.95 
13.73 
2.97 
.13 

261,452     100.00     73.60     93,701  100.          26.40     355,153  100. 

Entire  number  of  men  employes  whose  ages  were  ascertained  261,452 

Entire  number  of  men  employes   274,920 

Number  of  men  employes  whose  ages  were  not  ascertained 13,468 

Per  cent,  of  men  employes  whose  ages  were  not  ascertained  4.65 

Entire   number   of   employes    372,621 

Per  cent,  of  men  whose  ages  were  not  ascertained 3.61 

Entire  number  of  women  employes  whose  ages  were  ascertained  93,701 

Entire  number  of  women  employes  97,701 

Number  of  women  employes  whose  ages  were  not  ascertained  . .  4,000 

Per  cent,  of  women  employes  whose  ages  were  not  ascertained  4.09 

Entire  number  of  employes    372,621 

Per  cent,  of  women  whose  ages  were  not  ascertained 1.07 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  ages  were  ascertained 95.31 


138 


REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 


TABLE  VII. 

NUMBER  OF  EMPLOYEES  CLASSIFIED  AS  TO  TIME  AND 
METHOD  OF  WORK. 


Per                        Per 
Men       Cent.    Women     Cent. 

Total 

Per 

Cent. 

Day  work          194,186    75.95        61,486    24.05 

255.672 

100. 

Piece  work                              64  121    65.59        33  499    34.31 

97,620 

100. 

Night  work                  .  .        16.613    85.95   .      2,716    14.05 

19,329 

100. 

274,920                    97,701 

Whole  number  of  employes  working  days  
Per  cent    of  entire  number  of  workers   

372,621 
255,672 

68.61 

Whole  number  of  employees  working  piece  work  .... 
Per  cent,  of  entire  number  of  workers  

97,620 

26.2 

Whole  number  of  employees  working  nights   
Per  cent    of  entire  number  of  workers 

19,329 

519 

Entire  number  of  employees  classified    . 

Entire  number  of  men  

Per  cent,  of  whole  number  of  workers  .  .  . 

Entire  number  of  women  employees 

Per  cent,  of  whole  number  of  workers    . 


372,621   100. 

372,621 
274,920 


97,701 


73.78 
26.22 


372,621   100. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE. 


139 


TABLE  VIII. 

CLASSIFICATION   OF  EMPLOYES  AS  TO  CIVIL   CONDITIONS  AS 
REPORTED  BY  EMPLOYERS  AND  EMPLOYES  THEMSELVES. 


Men 


Per  Per 

Cent.       Women       Cent.       Total 


Per 
Cent. 


Married   170,302 

Single   95,785 

Widows    . 


89.73 
58.78 


266,087 


19,482 

67,157 

2,286 

88,925 


10.27 
41.22 


189,784 
162,942 


366,012 


100. 
100. 


Whole  number  of  employees  married   189,784 

Whole  number  of  men  workers  married  170,302 

Per  cent,  of  entire  workers 47.98 

Whole  number  of  women  workers  married 19,482 

Per  cent,  of  entire  workers    5.49 

Number  of  single  men  workers   95,785 

Per  cent,  of  entire  workers 26.98 

Number  of  single  women  workers 65,157 

Per  cent,  of  entire  workers    18.91 

Number  of  widows  who  are  workers   2,286 

Per  cent,  of  entire  workers .64 

355,012          100. 
Entire  number  of  men  whose  civil  conditions  were 

reported 266,087 

Number  and  per  cent,  of  married  men  workers. .  .        170,302  64.00 

Number  and  per  cent,  of  single  men  workers 96,785  36.00 

100. 

Entire  number  of  women  workers 88,925 

Number  and  per  cent,  of  married  women  workers  19,482  21.91 

Number  and  per  cent,  of  single  women  workers..  65,157  75.52 

Number  and  per  cent,  of  widows  working 2,286  2.57 

MEN. 

Entire  number  of  men  in  factories  and  kindred  in- 
dustries    274,920 

Entire  number  of  women  in  factories  and  kindred 

industries  97,701 

Entire  number  of  men  whose  civil  conditions  were 

reported 266,087 

Number  whose  civil  conditions  were  not  reported  8,833 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  conditions  were 

reported  96.7.4 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  conditions  were 

not  reported  3.21 


100. 


140  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

WOMEN. 

Entire   number   of   women   whose   civil   conditions 

were  reported   88,925 

Entire   number   of   women   whose    civil   conditions 

were  not  reported  8,776 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  civil  conditions 

were  reported   01.02 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  civil  conditions 

were  not  reported  8.98 

100. 

Entire  number  of  men  and  women  working  in  fac- 
tories and  kindred  industries 372,621 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  civil  conditions 
were  reported  95.27 

Per  cent,  of  entire  number  whose  civil  conditions 
were  not  reported  4.73 

100. 

Per  cent,  of  men  of  entire  number  reported 71.41 

Per  cent,  of  men  of  entire  number  not  reported  . .  - 

Per  cent,  of  women  of  entire  number  reported 23.86 

Per  cent,  of  men  of  entire  number  not  reported 2.37 


Total  of  men  and  women 372,621 

Number  of  children  reported  by  the  wage  earners 
investigated    211,987 


100. 


WAGE-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATE.  141 


SUMMARY  OF  HOURS,  WAGES,  OUTPUT,  ETC. 

HOURS  OF  LABOR 

f 

The  increase  in  the  hours  of  labor  during  the  years  1917 
and  1918  over  the  years  of  1915  and  1916  was  comparatively 
slight.  In  many  cases  there  was  a  marked  decrease  ap- 
parently, as  the  working  week  was  cut  from  55  hours  to 
48  hours.  But  it  was  only  an  apparent  decrease  as  the 
workers  had  an  eight  hour  day  under  government  contracts 
and  as  the  result  of  firms  having  such  contracts  either  as 
whole  or  part,  conforming  their  regular  working  schedule 
to  the  demands  of  the  workers  and  the  practice  of  the  United 
States  government,  with  every  firm  where  eight  hours 
constituted  a  day's  work,  overtime  was  the  rule,  bringing 
the  actual  work  up  to  55  and  60  hours  a  week  with  increase 
of  pay  one  and  one-quarter  and  one  and  one-half. 

Numbers  working  specified  hour  time  during  1917-18. 

40  44  48  50  52  54  56  60 

3,452       20,760       60,170       57,095       22,656       64,070       31,092       70,526 

INCREASE  OF  WAGES. 

Increase  per  cent,  in  wages  began  in  1916  to  be  a  con- 
siderable factor  both  as  regular  increase  by  a  certain  per 
cent,  and  in  the  form  of  bonuses  and  profit  sharing. 

10%         15%         20%       25%       30%        40%        45%       50%       60%  100% 
18,121    61,387    75,641    49,622    57,834    38,613     21,384    27,189    21,041    789 

A  number  of  firms  were  driven  out  of  business  on  ac- 
count of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  labor  and  materials  and 
when  they  did  obtain  them,  the  great  advance  in  cost.  Bake- 
ries were  particularly  hard  hit. 

In  summing  up  the  amount  of  wages  received,  it  must 
be  carefully  emphasized  that  in  many  cases  where  em- 
ployees' hours  were  reduced  from  55  hours  to  48  hours  and 
44  hours,  they  really  lost  considerable,  practically  12%  and 
any  where  from  10  to  14%  on  the  average,  thus  decreasing 
the  sum  total  of  their  actual  wages  which  is  the  amount  of 
wages  given. 

Another  cause  of  decrease  in  the  sum  total  of  wages  was 
the  strikes,  walkouts,  and  stoppages  of  work  resulting  from 
demands  for  higher  wages  or  shorter  hours  or  both.  It 
may  seem  a  trifling  sum  to  lose  even  one  hour's  pay  but 


142  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

when  this  amount  is  multiplied  by  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  hours  lost,  it  becomes  vast.  Even  the  cessation  of  work 
for  a  minute  means  loss  to  the  worker  and  the  employer. 

As  far  as  it  was  possible  to  estimate  this  loss  caused  by 
sickness,  taking  a  few  day  off,  strikes,  walkouts,  parleys, 
etc.,  it  reached  the  sum  of  $3,171,841.62  which  is  the  dif- 
ference between  the  actual  wages  paid  as  given  in  the  report 
and  the  wages  which  would  have  been  paid  if  the  employees 
had  worked  every  one  of  the  legal  working  days. 

While  in  some  occupations,  sickness  and  drunkenness 
were  factors,  the  latter  figures  in  a  degree  gratifyingly  small 
to  the  workmen  who  are  proud  of  their  standing.  A  large 
part  of  the  loss  of  wages,  apart  from  labor  disturbance,  was 
the  habit  of  taking  days'  off,  indulged  in  by  the  higher  paid 
workers.  One  young  man  who  was  making  $84  a  week 
habitually  took  off  a  day  and  a  half  each  week. 

AS  TO  OUTPUT. 

The  summary  of  the  output  of  the  manufacturers  of  the 
state  should  also  be  considered  with  reference  to  the  fact 
that  much  more  money  had  to  be  expended  for  material, 
upkeep,  fuel,  etc.,  as  well  as  wages.  The  output,  also  em- 
braces material  both  raw  and  finished  so  that  one  man  in 
giving  the  sum  total  of  his  output  has  therein  not  only  his 
own  finished  product  but  the  finished  product  and  raw  ma- 
terial of  perhaps  a  score  of  others.  The  amount  given  rep- 
resents in  all  cases  gross  output  with  no  deductions  made 
for  material,  upkeep,  wear  and  tear,  wages,  insurance,  etc. 


WAGE.-EARNERS  IN  THE  STATfi. 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Your  investigator  urgently  recommends  the  following: 

1.  The  establishment  of  pre-vocational   and  vocational 
courses  in  grade  and  grammar  schools  on  the  plan  of 
the  trade  schools  now  existing. 

2.  Extension  of  physical  culture  exercises  to  all  schools 
for  both  boys  and  girls. 

3.  The  passing  of  a  law  preventing  the  employment  of 
young  mothers  in  both  textile  and  metal  industries. 

4.  Every  floor  used  as  one  room  or  each  room  on  a  floor 
where  men  and  women  are  employed  should  have  toilets 
for  both  sexes,  situated  in  different  parts  of  the  room 
or  floor,  distinctly  marked;  with  screens  in  front  of 
entrances.     Such  entrances  to  be  three  feet  wide,  and 
kept  unobstructed.     Each  toilet  should  be  properly 
ventilated  and  should  be  heated  in  the  winter  and 

lighted  by  artificial  light  while  the  building  is  in  use ; 
disinfectants  should  be  provided;  rotten  and  broken 

seats  should  be  promptly  repaired  or  replaced ;  wood- 
en walls  and  seats  should  be  covered  with  non-absor- 
bent paint;  the  walls  should  be  cleaned  at  least  four 
times  a  year.  Grave  reasons,  moral  and  physical,  ex- 
ist for  separate  toilets  in  different  parts  of  the  room 
or  floor.  All  toilets  should  have  doors,  one  foot  from 
the  top  and  from  the  bottom. 

5.  Buildings,  not  factories,  where  one  or  more  rooms  or 
floors  are  occupied  for  business  purposes  of  any  kind, 
employing  both  sexes,  should  have  separate  toilets  for 
both  sexes,  situated  on  the  floor  on  which  they  work. 
There  are  hundreds  of  buildings  with  no  toilet  facili- 
ties or  only  one  wretched  apology  for  such. 

6.  Lavatories  should  be  provided  for  women  in  an  ante 
room  whence  the  toilets  open.     Factories  exist  where 
women  in  default  of  such  lavatories  wash  their  hands 
in  the  toilet  bowls.     The  lavatories  should  have  hot 
and  cold  water,  liquid  soap  and  paper  towels. 

7.  Lavatories  for  men  should  be  of  the  free  flowing 
stream  type  where  hands  are  washed  directly  under 
the  faucet.     Washing  the  hands  and  face  in  basins  and 


144  REPORT  OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF 

troughs  for  common  use  should  be  prohibited.  One 
faucet  for  five  persons  is  recommended.  Paper  towels 
and  liquid  soap  should  be  provided. 

8.  Drinking  water  should  be  provided  in  every  room. 
The  use  of  water  from  buckets  or  tanks  supposed  to 
contain  ice  should  be  punished  with  a  fine.     One  tenth 
of  the  working  places  of  the  state  have  the  dangerous 
practice  of  drinking  water  out  of  buckets,  using  the 
same  glass,   cup   or  dipper.     These  buckets   usually 
stand  in  filthy  and  rotting  sinks.     Bubbler  systems 
should  be  installed  in  every  place  where  people  are 
employed. 

9.  Direct  lighting  instead  of  the  diffused  indirect  should 
be  used  in  every  factory  where  the  work  requires 
close  attention  to  the  operation  of  the  machine. 

10.  Freight  elevators  whose  opening  is  part  of  the  floor 
and  level  therewith  should  be  enclosed  with  a  railing 
and  marked  with  a  white  danger  line. 

11.  All  fire  escapes  should  be  plainly  marked  and  kept 
clear,  and  all  passages  to  such  unobstructed.     Failure 
to  do  one  or  both  should  be  penalized. 

12.  Rigid  requirement  should  be  made  for  reporting  of 
diseases  causing  any  form  of  blood  poisoning. 


25m 


YC  35047 


